The McGowan Government continues to ignore science and back big polluters despite knowing full well the impacts of increased emissions on Western Australia.
The WA Parliament, today, voted against a Greens WA motion to
– Acknowledge the unprecedented level of carbon emissions from WA gas projects;
– Admit that the Browse Basin & Burrup Hub Development will single handedly cancel out all gains made towards reducing Australia’s emissions; and
– Prioritise the creation of long-lasting jobs in clean and renewable energy.
This was emphatically voted against by State Government MLC’s despite claiming to take climate change seriously.
The Greens WA spokesperson for climate change, Tim Clifford, said this cognitive dissonance is not only destructive but irresponsible.
“I acknowledge that the State Government has some good initiatives related to climate change but all this good work will be for nothing if the Browse Basin & Burrup Hub Development is allowed to go ahead. This development will single handedly wipe out any positive legacy that this Government leaves behind,” Mr Clifford said.
“By continuing to prop up big polluters, WA is missing out on investment to transform and diversify the economy into clean industries.
“We know that there are more than 4000 jobs available in offsets alone.
“It does not make economic sense for this Government to approve a project that will turn into a stranded asset long before its intended completion date more than 50 years from now.
“How Woodside and the McGowan Government believe there will be a market for some of the world’s dirtiest gas in 2070 is beyond me.”
FACT BOX
– The Greens WA were the only party to endorse this motion, all other MLCs voted against it (35-4) – this is shown in the attached image.
– Despite the Paris Agreement requiring the world to be fossil fuel free by 2050, the Browse Basin and Burrup Hub Development is designed to extend WA’s LNG exports into 2070.
– Total climate damage from the proposed Browse Basin and Burrup Hub LNG development would be several times the size of the current Adani mine proposal according to a new analysis by Clean State based on company data.
– The various parts of the project would release around 20 million tonnes of carbon pollution here in WA, making the project Australia’s largest polluter.
– A further 80 million tonnes of carbon pollution (scope 3 emissions) would be released when the exported gas is burned overseas.
– Environmental approvals have not yet been granted for the largest parts of the project, including the Browse Basin gas field and the North West Shelf LNG extension.
– WA is still without a climate policy with only a net-zero aspiration by 2050 — which includes no trajectory or interim targets — having been announced in August.