View of Scott Reef in Australia | Stunning shots of Scott
and Seringapatam Reefs, far off the Western Australia
Coastline. Woodside Energy has its eyes set on turning this
marine sanctuary into a gas field | Photo: Alex Westover /
Greenpeace
SYDNEY/PERTH,
Friday, 12 September 2025 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific
has slammed the Albanese government’s approval of
Woodside’s North West Shelf extension as a betrayal of
Australian and Pacific communities facing worsening climate
impacts, and urged the government to stop favouring fossil
fuel corporations and start protecting the people who voted
them in.
This decision brings Woodside’s
dangerous plans to drill for gas at Scott Reef one step
closer to reality, and recklessly flouts the scientific
consensus that new fossil fuels are incompatible with
limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
The Federal
Government has today finalised approval of Woodside’s
proposal to extend the life of its North West Shelf gas
processing facility to 2070, with 48
conditions.
David Ritter, CEO at Greenpeace
Australia Pacific, said: “Woodside’s plans to
continue processing gas till 2070 and drill for gas at Scott
Reef are grotesque. They risk the destruction of one of
Australia’s largest freestanding oceanic coral reefs, and
would contribute to climate disaster. Today’s approval
erodes the climate credibility of the Albanese government at
a moment when it is already on thin ice.
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“There is
no place for new fossil fuels in the global push to limit
global warming to 1.5°C—our best bet for securing a safe
future for Australian and Pacific communities who already
face worsening bushfires, floods, sea level rise, and
cyclones.
“Limiting global heating is fundamental to
securing a safer future for people, wildlife, and all that
we love. There can’t be a Jekyll and Hyde approach– the
Albanese government’s ambitious renewable energy agenda
does not excuse glaring inaction on fossil fuel
expansion.
“We need urgent action to slash climate
pollution. As the Albanese government prepares its 2035
emissions reduction target, it must heed the best available
science—which recommends a target of net zero by 2035.
Limiting warming to 1.5°C will also require the government
to deliver a clear, time-bound plan for a fossil fuel
phase-out.
“Prime Minister Albanese needs to
remember that he is ultimately answerable to the Australian
electorate and to our regional family—not to the fossil
fuel corporations that are paying stuff-all tax and
trousering the profits, while making a mess of the country
that we all love.
“With Australia bidding to co-host
COP31 with the Pacific in 2026, it is more essential than
ever that the Albanese government delivers credible climate
policy that prioritises a safe, liveable future above fossil
fuel profits.
“The Prime Minister is
dangerously close to breaking Labor’s election promise of
strong climate action and environmental protection, losing
the goodwill of Pacific neighbours, and sinking Labor’s
legacy as the party that delivered globally significant
environmental protection, including protecting the Great
Barrier Reef and Antarctica from industrial
exploitation.
“Since the Albanese
government came into power in 2022, we have already
witnessed climate disasters that have upended the lives of
Australian and Pacific communities, and record bleaching on
our precious Great Barrier and Ningaloo Reefs. The
forthcoming National Climate Risk Assessment will predict
even more dire impacts under scenarios of climate
inaction.”
