Western Australian officials have requested a 50-year extension of the country's most polluting fossil fuel development, prompting outrage from climate activists who warned that it may add more than 4 billion tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere.

The WA Environment Protection Authority (EPA) advised the state government that the oil and gas firm Woodside Energy should be allowed to continue operating its North West Shelf gas operation in the Pilbara until 2070.

Is there a solution?

It proposed that the permission be conditional on Woodside reducing total net greenhouse gas emissions from the gas processing facility by two-thirds, from 385 million tonnes to 128 million tonnes, on its route to net-zero carbon pollution by 2050. To fulfill those standards, the corporation might reduce emissions or purchase carbon credits to offset its pollution.

What's the limitation? 

Opponents said the condition only covered a small portion of the total pollution predicted from the development because the great majority would be "scope three" emissions produced after the gas was exported and consumed overseas.

Woodside estimates that the scope three emissions will be around 80 million tonnes per year. Climate activists claim it could be responsible for more than 4 billion tonnes of more carbon dioxide over the next 50 years, which is more than eight times Australia's yearly emissions.

Benefits of the extension 

Jess Panegyres, Greenpeace Australia Pacific's head of clean transitions, said the North West Shelf extension will undermine Australia's emissions reduction efforts and contribute to a deepening climate crisis if permitted to proceed.

She stated that the EPA recommendation might lead to Woodside developing a long-promised new gas field off the coast of Washington and demonstrated "how fossil fuel companies can exploit our weak environmental laws in their own self-interest."

“Both the UN and International Energy Agency have been very clear that there can be no new gas developments to limit global warming to 1.5C, but Woodside continues to aggressively expand its operations, even with the global gas market set to shrink as the world switches to cleaner, safer renewables,” Panegyres said. “This dangerous company does not have Australia’s economic or environmental best interests at heart.”

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Woodside stated that the announcement of the EPA recommendations was a significant step forward in the North West Shelf project. Fiona Hick, the company's executive vice president, stated that the EPA's recommended requirements will be carefully considered.

“At a time of heightened concern around energy security, the North West Shelf project has an important role to play in delivering natural gas to local and international customers, providing energy that can support their decarbonization commitments,” she said.

Woodside recently significantly increased its fossil fuel footprint by combining its petroleum assets with those of global miner BHP, transforming it into one of the world's top 10 oil and gas corporations. It is planning multiple major projects in Western Australia, including a $16 billion expansion of the undeveloped Scarbrough gas field.

It has been chastised for failing to clarify how it intends to fulfill its stated goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. In May, 48.97% of shareholders voted against the company's climate report at its annual general meeting.

North West Shelf emissions 

According to federal government emissions data, the North West Shelf development emitted more than 6.7 million tonnes of CO2 in the 2020-21 fiscal year, more than any other Australian industrial site.

Maggie Wood, executive director of the Conservation Council of Western Australia, said the plant was one of the country's oldest and least efficient gas processing plants, and its expansion might jeopardize efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

She stated that it will maintain Western Australia's position as a climate laggard state. Its emissions have increased by 20% since 2005, owing primarily to the growth of a substantial liquefied natural gas export business.

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“Extending the life of this giant fossil fuel facility is not going to reverse the trend that has made WA the worst-performing state on climate action in the country. We not only can do better, but we must also do better,” she said.

The EPA's recommendations included new safeguards to protect Murujuga rock art on the Burrup Peninsula, some of which is thought to date back nearly 50,000 years. They included lowering nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound emissions by at least 40% by 2030.

The development authority's report is open for appeal until July 21, following which the state environment minister, Reece Whitby, will make a final decision.