Broome-based conservation group Environs Kimberley has hailed news that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has held gas corporation Black Mountain Energy to account for greenwashing while the region experiences record flooding.
Environs Kimberley Director Martin Pritchard said that while it is pleasing Black Mountain Energy has been issued infringement notices and forced to pay a fine for its repeated greenwashing claims he is disappointed at the small penalty; especially as it comes in the midst of record flooding in the Kimberley, made worse by the burning of fossil fuels like gas.
"Companies like Black Mountain Energy are proposing fracking projects in the Kimberley that would contribute to worsening climate change by flagrantly ignoring warnings there can be no new coal and gas project from the conservative International Energy Agency. It is good to see ASIC holding them to account for ridiculous greenwashing claims made without any evidence but disappointing the penalty is so small ," Mr Pritchard said.
"We don't believe the amount of emissions that would come from Black Mountain Energy's fracking plans could ever be net zero and be economically viable.
"Broome and the Kimberley region is currently experiencing a record-breaking flood event that has severely impacted the town of Fitzroy Crossing and we know that this type of extreme weather is being exacerbated by climate change, which is itself driven by the burning of fossil fuels like gas.
"This is yet another opportunity for WA Premier Mark McGowan and his Ministers to put an end to the threat of fracking in the Kimberley. They know the gas fracking industry would ruin the $500 million tourism industry which is based on the world-famous natural and cultural landscapes of the internationally renowned region."
The campaign to stop fracking in the world-famous tourism region has been going for more than ten years and the Kimberley community has shown there is no social licence for the controversial gas industry, particularly with the worsening climate change crisis and extreme weather like floods and heatwaves.
