Western Australia’s peak conservation group has said that Woodside’s proposed $1bn investment in a hydrogen export facility in Kwinana appeared to be the latest attempt to greenwash Woodside’s fossil gas expansion plans.
The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) has called on Woodside to invest in genuine renewable hydrogen at a large scale and abandon plans to proceed with the $16bn Scarborough fossil gas development which it says would directly undermine global action on climate change.
CCWA’s Policy and Legal Director Piers Verstegen said “The Kwinana hydrogen development has made for a good headline but the devil is in the detail, and on closer inspection it appears to be yet another way for Woodside to greenwash its highly polluting fossil gas expansion plans.
“It appears that the Kwinana plant would be producing hydrogen using fossil gas – often referred to by the ambiguous term ‘Blue Hydrogen’. This is a very carbon intensive process and unlike genuinely renewable ‘Green Hydrogen’, it actually depends on more fossil fuels and risks even more pollution.
“In short, this is yet more fossil fuels dressed up in green clothing in order to distract attention from Woodside’s real plans in fossil gas expansion.
“We welcome resource companies moving into renewable energy and green hydrogen in a genuine way, but this project appears to be yet another greenwashing exercise for Woodside.
“Woodside’s proposed $16 billion Scarborough fossil gas development would dramatically increase gas production – and carbon pollution - at a time when we must urgently reduce emissions and transition away from fossil gas industries.
“If Woodside was serious about climate solutions and renewable energy, the company would be investing $16 billion in genuine renewable hydrogen projects instead of spending this capital expanding dirty gas production with the Scarborough project.
“That would deliver far more jobs for Western Australians and make a genuine contribution to global action on climate change, but instead we are seeing Woodside doubling down on fossil fuels and continuing to undermine critical global action."
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MEDIA INFORMATION: The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) is the state’s foremost non-profit, non-government conservation organisation representing more than 100 environmental organisations across Western Australia.
CONTACT: For any enquiries relating to this release, please contact Robert Davies on 08 9420 7291 / 0412 272 570 or by email, [email protected]