As the Australian government struggles with a short-term solution to the energy crisis, climate scientists are warning against long-term fossil fuel projects that will exacerbate the climate crisis.
Key points:
- The International Energy Agency has warned that investment in fossil fuels must cease in order for the 2050 climate target to be met.
- Climate scientist Bill Hare says the Labor government will fight to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030 if projects like Woodside’s Scarborough are developed.
- Woodside is also looking to start development at the Browse gas field due to high demand
The Albanian government has backed Woodside Energy’s $ 16 billion Scarborough gas project, which overcame major state and Commonwealth regulatory hurdles ahead of the federal election.
Most of the liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is expected to be ready for export in 2026, will go to Woodside customers in China, Japan and South Korea.
But amid the energy crisis facing parts of Australia, the company has also pointed to the potential to ship LNG to Eastern states in the future.
“It’s a few years away from being useful in the current crisis,” Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said at 7:30 p.m.
“But without a doubt, if we could put the right type of LNG import facility into operation, we would be absolutely interested in bringing Scarborough LNG to the East Coast.”
Ms. O’Neill has also marked undeveloped gas fields.
The Woodisde Scarborough Gas Project includes the expansion of Pluto’s current facilities on the Burrup Peninsula. (Supplied by: Woodside)
“I think what the world has seen with the Russian invasion of Ukraine is that we don’t want to depend on the gas of that particular nation,” he said.
“One of the things that worries me is that in the rush of the world to tackle the climate crisis, which is a serious crisis, and one that needs to be addressed, is that we risk creating an energy crisis.
“We have to make sure that while we think about the transition from the energy system that we have today to what we want, we do it in an orderly way.
“And that will mean continuing to use the fuels we use today, because we can’t get away with it.”
But climate scientist Bill Hare, founder and CEO of global research group Climate Analytics, said the development of new fossil fuel projects, including Scarborough, was inconsistent with the Paris Agreement to limit temperature rise. global at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“What I’m seeing now is that the gas industry is basically using the Russia-induced energy crisis as a justification for essentially breaking the Paris Agreement,” he said.
“We are seeing this all over the world, not just in Australia.
“And it’s a growing concern for everyone in the energy and climate business looking at how to comply with the Paris Agreement.”
Zero net ambitions
A year ago, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that immediate action was needed to meet the 2050 climate goals, including ending investments in new coal mines, oil wells and gas.
Woodside Energy expects its development at Scarborough to release 878 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over its lifetime.
But Climate Analytics estimates that the entire project would emit nearly 1.4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases over its lifetime, three times the current annual emissions of Australia.
Hare said the project presented a challenge for the new Labor government, which had pledged to reduce Australia’s emissions by 43% by 2030.
“The Labor government will fight to reach the 43 per cent target as long as such projects go ahead,” Dr Hare said.
But Resources Minister Madeleine King said Woodside’s Scarborough project was in line with the work’s climate goals.
Madeleine King says Woodside’s Scarborough project fits Labor’s zero-zero ambitions for 2050. (ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)
“[Woodside] they have the ambition of zero net emissions by 2050, just like the government, ”he said at 7.30am.
“Woodside is prepared and has assured the WA state government to implement the appropriate compensation for the development of the Scarborough gas field.
“Because it’s a low-carbon field, it’s the kind of field we should encourage development, as long as there is such compensation.”
Part of Labor’s emissions reduction plan is to strengthen the safeguard mechanism, forcing Australia’s major polluters to keep their emissions below historical levels, known as the baseline.
Energy analyst Tony Wood said he believed Woodside Scarborough’s development could be accommodated within this policy because its emissions would be capped and adjusted.
Tony Wood says projects like Scarborough can go ahead and accommodate labor policy to reduce emissions. (ABC News: Steve Keen)
“So given that the limit is set and will be lowered, that means adding a project that will increase emissions, you have to give something more,” he said.
“And it also means that other companies that are contemplating new gas developments will have a very clear and I think credible framework for making these investment decisions.
“It will not require the government to ban these projects or not.
“Because two things will happen: international demand for LNG will decline as other countries move towards zero net emissions, and the same policy that Labor is pursuing will restrict emissions in Australia.”
Beyond the Scarborough project
The Woodside Climate Plan aims to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 through the use of measures such as better technology, tree planting and investment in carbon offsets.
The company has no target for emissions of scope 3, those created through the combustion of fossil fuels by its customers.
Instead, it will spend $ 5 billion on low-carbon projects and research into carbon capture and storage.
Meg O’Neill says the situation with Russia reinforces the case for undeveloped gas fields to go online. (ABC News: Robert Koenigluck)
“We are investing time and effort in things like hydrogen and ammonia, because they will really help our customers with the challenge of emissions,” Ms. O’Neill.
Encouraged by the high prices, Woodside Energy looks beyond Scarborough.
At last month’s annual general meeting, Ms O’Neill said the energy crisis had bolstered the case to develop the Browse gas field, which is even bigger than Scarborough.
“We are in this position of financial strength at a time of significant volatility in world commodity markets, such as oil and gas, aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” O’Neill said in a statement. statement by the General Assembly.
“The likelihood that major energy customers will continue to move away from Russian energy sources also reinforces the case for other undeveloped gas fields, such as Browse, to go online.”
Fossil fuel projects “can’t solve current energy problems”
Alex Hillman, who worked as an engineer and lobbyist at Woodside for more than eight years and now works for the Australasian Center for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), said new major fossil fuel projects would not solve current energy problems. , but would aggravate the climate crisis.
“Energy exporters, like Woodside, talk a lot about increasing their supply while customers look for alternatives to Russian energy,” he said.
Alex Hillman is a former engineer at Woodside. (ABC News: Rhiannon Shine)
“But the construction of large fossil fuel projects takes years, so they can’t solve the current energy problems.
“Meanwhile, gas importers have realized that domestic renewable energy is cheaper, cleaner, faster to build and offers higher levels of energy security than LNG imports.
“Taking Browse, for example, it is unfeasible for Browse to be able to produce LNG or generate revenue by the 2030s.
“At this point, countries will have had a long time to reduce their dependence on gas, creating a major risk for this investment.”
Resources Minister Madeleine King said the government would support developments that meet environmental standards and approvals and align with the move towards zero net emissions.
“If this includes Browse and Browse are accumulating environmentally and economically, I see no reason not to support it,” he said.
The gas market will “sink”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Radio Perth last week that gas would continue to play a national role as the country moved to zero.
“The idea that you have a simple stop position [on fossil fuel projects] it is one that does not reflect the needs of our national economy or the global economy, “he told ABC Radio Perth.
Woodside sees its LNG as a solution to both energy security and the climate crisis.
“If we look at nations like China, Japan, Korea, where much of our product is sold today, all of those nations are still heavily dependent on coal,” Ms. O’Neill said.
“So gas will be part of your energy transition and meet both needs of being a safe source of energy, which is less carbon than many alternatives.”
But Curtin University professor of sustainability Peter Newman said coal could be replaced by renewable energy.
Professor Peter Newman says the natural gas market will disappear in the long run. (ABC News: Rhiannon Shine)
“All over the world, coal is being replaced by solar, not natural gas,” he said.
“The natural gas market is on the rise at the moment, in the very short term. But in the medium and long term, this market will collapse. It will disappear.
“You will have jammed assets.
“It’s not acceptable to say that somehow this market will continue and continue for decades. It won’t.”
Curtin University energy economist Roberto Aguilera said the high price of fossil fuels should stimulate the development of renewable energy.
Although renewables are a fast-growing sector, they are not yet ready to occupy the market share of gas and coal. (ABC North Queensland: Tom Major)
“But we have to remember that worldwide, fossil fuels still account for about 80% of energy consumption,” he said.
“So, despite the very …