WA to miss net zero targets by up to a decade: Woodside report
Updated ,first published
Oil and gas giant Woodside, based in Western Australia, claims its controversial multimillion-dollar Eye project will not derail the state’s net zero targets as the project is already on track to miss the 2050 deadline.
A report from Deloitte Access Economics suggested that even if the $30 million project did not go ahead, WA would miss its target by up to a decade, and the offshore bid could ease the costs of the energy transition by feeding industry in the meantime.
This interpretation of the report was criticized by the state’s top environmental agency, which labeled the report as “corporate propaganda” to hide the fact that the proposal would be “a drain on our economy and a disaster for our environment”.
But Woodside Chief Executive Liz Westcott said it underlined the role Gözat could play in providing a fair return to society while supporting Australia’s long-term energy needs.
“Browse is Australia’s largest undeveloped offshore gas resource and represents a major opportunity for the country at a time when energy security is more important than ever,” he said.
“Independent modeling shows Eyebrow has the potential to power homes and businesses, support thousands of Australian jobs and generate significant revenue for governments, while also helping to manage the risks and costs of the energy transition.”
Woodside also highlighted that the report estimates that the Lookout project could contribute to a long-term increase in national gross domestic product of more than $141 billion.
Conservation Council WA senior campaigner Greta Carroll said Woodside had commissioned a report showing WA had fallen behind on climate action and had learned all the wrong lessons from it.
“Instead of prioritizing the renewable transition, the company is doubling down on fossil gas, which is expensive, unreliable and polluting, and disastrous for both the economy and the environment,” he said.
“WA needs concrete emissions reduction targets and renewables need to be prioritized over new gas projects like Gözat.
“This is the best way to build a thriving economy and protect the places we love, like Scott Reef.”
WA Greens fossil fuels spokesperson Sophie McNeill said the Deloitte report had brought to light information on net zero that the state government did not want to publish.
“The Labor Government are hiding this, saying our emissions trajectory is top secret, hidden in cabinet, and yet Woodside accidentally revealed it,” he said.
“It’s pretty funny.”
Carroll said the report was also an attempt to undermine the federal government’s plans for a domestic gas reservation policy “which is actually working, unlike the WA plan which was undermined in favor of major gas exporters”.
“We know gas export giants are not complying with WA’s reservation policy. Only 8 per cent of WA gas was reserved for domestic use in 2023,” he said.
“If Woodside were really serious about helping the Western Australian economy the first thing they would do would be to start paying off their debt to the domestic market.
“The second thing would be to cancel the Gozat gas project, which risks increasing WA’s domestic gas prices, and give them a license to export more Australian gas royalty-free.”
Minerals and Energy Chamber WA chief executive Aaron Morey said the Browse project had benefited WA’s economy by generating more than $56 billion in taxes and royalties, creating nearly 4800 jobs and supporting cheaper, more reliable energy for decades to come.
“Gazat ticks every box for our state. It will deliver thousands of good-paying jobs, tens of billions of dollars in taxes and royalties, cheaper, more reliable energy for decades to come and support the decarbonisation of electricity grids both here in Western Australia and across Asia,” he said.
“Resource projects of this size and importance do not come along very often, and the jurisdictions that secure them are reaping the benefits for generations.”
Morey said that the conflict emerging in the Middle East revealed the importance of energy security.
“Reliable and affordable energy is the fundamental building block of developed economies and is becoming more important over time,” he said.
“The energy released through Browse will make us indispensable for our commercial partners.”
Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said she had not seen the report but said it did nothing to change the government’s focus on transitioning to “renewable energy”.
“We would be out of state-owned coal-fired power plants by 2030. [South West Interconnected System] and we continue the energy transition across the Pilbara,” he said.
“This is one of the hardest places in the world to decarbonise. We have heavy industry that supports communities and jobs.
“We’re working to deliver $3 billion worth of next-generation transmission infrastructure… That’s our focus. That’s my focus, and this report doesn’t change that.”
He said net zero by 2050 was “a very solid commitment from the government”.
Holly Thompson is a journalist at WAtoday specializing in education and the environment.Connect with: X or email.
