Responding to today's release of exploration licences for gas off the coast of Victoria and Western Australia, Climate Council Head of Policy and Advocacy Dr Jennifer Rayner said:
"Gas exploration has to stop because the extraction and burning of this expensive and polluting fossil fuel has to stop. More gas means more climate pollution harming our kids and more unnatural disasters driving up our costs of living.
"We are already using less gas in Australia as homes and businesses embrace affordable and reliable clean energy. International demand for gas is forecast to peak before 2030 and sharply decline after that as all countries work to slash climate pollution. We need new policy thinking - including a real domestic gas reservation policy to meet Australia's small and declining needs - not more gas projects.
"Industry analysis shows there were already around 230,000 square kilometres of Australia's seabed under exploration licence in 2022, an area of land more than three times the size of Tasmania. The new licences issued today will add to the massive toll in climate pollution and environmental damage that would come with exploiting all of this acreage.
"It's time for the Australian Government to end the release of offshore exploration licences for fossil fuels altogether. Australia, and the world, is increasingly being powered by clean renewable energy - we do not need to stockpile new supplies. Exploring for more oil and gas now is like building Video Ezy stores in the age of Netflix."
