- Federal resources minister Madeleine King today issued more offshore gas exploration permits, including 10 permits for risky, failed carbon capture and storage
- Dumping carbon pollution under our oceans threatens our marine life, and is an expensive way to greenlight the fossil fuel industry to continue business as usual
- Permits issued for Australia's south-eastern waters, which are being hit hard by climate change, warming 3-4 times the global average, and off WA.
The Albanese Government today issued more permits for offshore gas exploration, which will fuel climate change, and increase pressure on our incredibly stressed oceans and marine life, said the Australian Marine Conservation Society.
These permits cover carbon capture and storage (CCS) experiments, which have been a costly failure designed to prolong the world's dependence on fossil fuels. Some of the permits are for Australia's south-east waters, which are already suffering major impacts from climate change, warming 3-4 times faster than the global average.
AMCS Oil and Gas Campaign Manager Louise Morris said: "The Albanese government made it abundantly clear it is captured by the fossil fuel industry when it released its Future Gas Strategy this year, locking Australia and the world into more gas beyond 2025 when we need to be drastically cutting emissions. Today the government has made further moves to realise a gas-fired polluting future by issuing more permits for offshore gas exploration and the boondoggle of dumping carbon pollution under the ocean floor.
"These permits for exploration for gas and carbon pollution dumping will impact some of the most important areas for our endangered marine life.
"These permits in the waters between Victoria and Tasmania are an affront to the tens of thousands of Australians who oppose the seismic blasting and test drilling proposals in the Otway Basin. More than 50,000 AMCS supporters have taken action opposing the seismic and gas drilling proposals currently before the regulator for approval, with decisions due in the coming weeks. These permits fly in the face of a rapid transition away from fossil fuels. It just does not pass the pub, or climate, test.
"It's a farce that the carbon dumping permits released today will allow companies such as Esso/ExxonMobil to repurpose rusting old rigs and infrastructure, which have had two reported leaks and spills just this year, for dumping carbon in Bass Strait. Esso/ExxonMobil currently has proposals to pump carbon pollution from its Longford gas plant in Gippsland under the ocean, as part of the SEA CCS project.
"The Albanese government should not be handing out permits for dumping carbon in our ocean when it is being used to prolong the life of the fossil fuel industry, and UNESCO has singled out Australia to do more to battle climate change and protect the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian Government has already spent more than $1 billion on carbon capture and storage, which has failed to deliver, and the Albanese government is planning to throw another estimated $140 million at this proven failure over the coming 10 years.
"It's time the Albanese government stopped handing over our ocean to the fossil fuel industry to try and mine more gas, and dropped plans to dump carbon pollution under our ocean, endangering our marine life, marine parks, climate and coastal communities that will bear the brunt of any spills or leaks."
