The Australian Government has made a final decision to grant environmental approval for Woodside‘s contested North West Shelf Project Extension.
The approval followed an extensive assessment and appeal process and included rigorous conditions to manage the protection of cultural heritage, including additional monitoring and management of air emissions to protect the Dampier Archipelago National Heritage Place.
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Woodside executive vice president and chief operating officer Australia Liz Westcott said, “This final approval provides certainty for the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf Project, so it can continue to provide reliable energy supplies as it has for more than 40 years.
“Over this time, the North West Shelf Project has paid more than A$40 billion in royalties and excise, supported thousands of Australian jobs and contributed well over A$300 million to communities in the Pilbara through social investment initiatives and infrastructure support.”
But environmental conservation groups are say the conditions cannot curb the climate damage that will flow from the massive fossil fuel project’s extension.
“The conditions can’t alter the fact the Albanese government is responsible for granting one of the world’s largest gas approvals while the planet is engulfed in a climate crisis,” Australian Conservation Foundation climate program manager Gavan McFadzean said.
“The Albanese government’s progress on renewables at home is wiped out by its continued support to expand Australia’s gas exports. No matter where Australian gas is burned, it puts people and nature in harm’s way by fuelling more extreme weather.
“The safeguard mechanism already requires major emitters to be net zero by 2050. This is not a new condition.”
Research released by ACF in 2024 shows lifetime emissions from the North West Shelf project would be more than 13 times Australia’s annual emissions from all sources.
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“It beggars belief that the Albanese government would choose to detonate this carbon bomb,” McFadzean said.
“With this decision, Prime Minister Albanese has betrayed Australians who voted for him, believing he was serious about acting on climate change.”
