WA’s rejection of carbon-neutral guidelines leaves LNG emissions booming

A Western Australian government decision to reject guidelines requiring major liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects to be carbon neutral leaves Australia without a state or federal policy to address its biggest source of growth in heat-trapping emissions.

Chevron was required to offset some of the emissions from
 Wheatstone refinery, but the requirement was dropped by
the former Liberal state government when a national carbon
price was introduced in 2011. It still has not been reinstated.

The most recent federal government emissions report says the booming northern WA LNG industry is the main driver of an 0.9% increase in national emissions in the year to September, continuing a trend in place since 2015. LNG exports to Asian markets jumped 19.7% over those 12 months.

Related: Woodside applies to build big-polluting LNG plant – with no emissions plan

Authorities had hoped the rise in LNG emissions would be slowed by a carbon capture and storage project at the country’s largest natural gas development, Chevron’s Gorgon operation in the Pilbara, coming online early this year.

Read the story from The Guardian by Adam Morton - “WA’s rejection of carbon-neutral guidelines leaves LNG emissions booming.”