A “shameful betrayal” and a “climate fail:” Fury greets Labor’s approval of giant fossil gas project

A decision to approve an operating licence for the nation’s biggest gas project until 2070 is a shameful betrayal that will impact generations, conservationists say.

The federal government green-lit the 40-year extension for Woodside Energy’s controversial North West Shelf development in Western Australia’s Pilbara region on Friday.

Environment Minister Murray Watt said 48 restrictions on the project would help protect world-heritage-listed Indigenous rock art near an onshore processing facility, while allowing gas and oil processing to continue.Play

“The conditions will ensure that this project will be operated in a way that does not cause unacceptable impacts to the Murujuga rock art,” he said.

Environmental advocates have reacted angrily to the extension, accusing the Albanese government of unleashing a “carbon bomb”.

Carbon emissions from the North West Shelf during its lifetime would be 13 times greater than Australia’s total annual emissions, the Australian Conservation Foundation said.

“No matter where Australian gas is burned, it puts people and nature in harm’s way by fuelling more extreme weather,” the group’s climate program manager Gavan McFadzean said.

Conservation Council WA executive director Matt Roberts called it a “dangerous climate fail”.

“This is a mistake of intergenerational proportions,” he said.

Murujuga traditional owner and Mardathoonera woman Raelene Cooper said the decision was a “crime against Murujuga and a crime against humanity”.

“This is not just destroying Murujuga country, but will impact communities all around the world. It is a shameful act and a shameful decision,” she said.

“It is a betrayal of Aboriginal people, it is a betrayal of our elders, it is a betrayal of future generations. It is a betrayal of all Australians.”

Greenpeace WA spokesman Geoff Bice said the Albanese government had caved into the pressures of the oil and gas industry.

“It runs directly counter to the climate science and it’s counter to the wishes of the Australian public,” he said.

Australian Marine Conservation Society chief executive Paul Gamblin said the decision was “condemning us to nearly half a century more of massive carbon pollution”.

Preliminary approval for the four-decade extension was granted to gas company Woodside in May and, since then, the business has been negotiating with government officials over the exact conditions placed on the processing hub.

Senator Watt said the final restrictions were more specific than those originally set down and would require the site to reduce emissions of some gases by up to 60 per cent.

The government has also imposed extra legal protections on part of the Murujuga heritage site, forcing companies to consult with local Indigenous groups to protect the 40,000-year-old carvings.

Independent Senator David Pocock described the approval as “a betrayal of Australians”.

“It’s a betrayal of the people and places we love,” he told AAP.

Some Pacific leaders have warned locking in the project would hurt Australia’s credibility on climate change and harm the nation’s standing in the region.

Senator Watt rejected those suggestions, telling reporters in Brisbane the decision complied with international law, saying Labor had “massively advanced” Australia’s contribution to fighting climate change.

The federal opposition and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA welcomed the decision, as did Woodside.

The company said it was committed to protecting the Murujuga rock art.

“This final approval provides certainty for the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf Project,” executive vice president Liz Westcott said.