Environmental groups warn WA’s gas projects will derail new net-zero legislation

Western Australia is to enshrine its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 into law, but environmental groups warn that the state’s proposed gas projects could derail the goal before it gets off the ground.

The announcement, made today by Climate Action Minister Reece Whitby, includes a provision requiring Whitby and his ministerial successors to report to Parliament annually on the state’s progress towards its targets, as well as committing the state government to slashing public sector emissions by 80% by the end of the decade.

But Greenpeace Australia Pacific, which called the move a “welcome step”, has warned that proposed major gas projects in the state will make the goal unfeasible.

Jess Panegyres, head of Clean Transitions at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said the continued expansion of the state’s gas industry, including major projects like Woodside’s Burrup Hub project, which aims to develop two massive new offshore gas fields, will undermine the transition.

“Greenpeace welcomes the plan to legislate the net zero by 2050 target and set five-yearly targets, but the state government needs an urgent plan to transition away from gas in order to meet these goals,” she said.

“This move brings WA in line with other states which have legislated net zero, and is important in creating policy certainty.

“WA has incredible opportunities in the clean energy economy – the biggest opportunities in Australia. However, the continued expansion of the gas industry is short-sighted and will undermine WA’s ability to meet this important goal.”

Every Australian state and territory has nominally committed to net zero by 2050, but this move will make WA only the third state to actually legislate its net-zero target, after Victoria and Tasmania.

The McGowan government first committed to net zero emissions from the public sector in August, 2019. This latest move comes on the heels of the Albanese Government’s new net zero by 2050 target, which passed into law in September.

“Climate change is the greatest challenge of our lifetime,” Whitby said. “We need to take decisive action this decade. This legislation will help accelerate our transition to net zero emissions in a responsible and achievable way.”

“Legislation sends a strong signal about the priorities and leadership of our Government. This includes our commitment to achieving an 80 per cent reduction in State Government emissions by 2030.”

In an interview with ABC Radio Perth, however, Whitby acknowledged that the “hurdle is high”, given the state’s reliance on high-emitting industries including mining and agriculture. WA is one of just two states or territories in Australia to see its emissions rise since 2005, the other being the NT.

While McGowan has promised to close all state-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030, WA has a slew of oil and gas projects still in the pipeline.

These include stage two of the massive Gorgon Project, one of the world’s largest natural gas producers, the upcoming Crux project in the Browse Basin, and Woodside’s Scarborough development and Pluto Train 2, which will involve the drilling of eight wells and expanding Woodside and BHP’s existing Pluto facility by constructing a second LNG train.

According to analysis by GlobalData, reported by Pump Industry, Australia as a whole can expect 118 new oil and gas projects between 2021 and 2025.

Gas is touted as a transitional fuel, lower-emitting than coal, which can help countries tide themselves over as they move towards a renewables-based energy mix.

Since 2010, coal-to-gas switching has reportedly saved around 500 million tonnes of CO2 from being released according to the International Energy Agency – equivalent to putting 200 million BEVs on the road over the same period.

Critics, on the other hand, warn that allowing the gas industry to flourish could mean reduced investment in renewables, with major emitters simply switching to the polluting fuel and facing less impetus to transition quickly to clean energy.

Fugitive emissions of methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2 in the near-term – are also potentially under-reported.

Amid a global gas supply shortage and skyrocketing prices, compared with the continually falling cost of renewable electricity and infrastructure, the economic argument for a gas-fuelled transition is also fading.