Resource minister Madeleine King released party’s future gas strategy, which says new sources will be needed ‘to 2050 and beyond’
Anthony Albanese is facing an internal revolt with Labor backbenchers pushing back against the government’s support for new gas production.
Five inner-city MPs have criticised the government’s gas strategy, arguing it will overshadow progress on clean energy.
Continue reading...£5.5bn loss in 2023 comes after gas sales more than halved following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom has plunged to its first annual loss in more than 20 years, after gas sales more than halved following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company made a net loss of 629bn roubles (£5.5bn) in 2023 amid dwindling gas trade with Europe, once Gazprom’s main sales market, as a result of sanctions and the throttling of pipelines to the continent.
Continue reading...Channel Ten show’s planned use of biomethane and hydrogen in cooking challenges ‘completely out of sync’ with changing attitudes, critics say
Environmentalists have accused the hit reality TV show MasterChef Australia of greenwashing after the Network Ten program announced sponsorship deals with gas companies.
The official sponsors for MasterChef’s 16th season include the Australian Gas Network (AGN), a subsidiary of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, which is responsible for a national fossil fuel distribution network.
Continue reading...Broad terms of subpoenas a ‘chilling’ precedent that could undermine future climate litigation, legal experts say
A federal court judge has allowed Santos to subpoena paperwork held by three activist groups who were not directly involved in a lawsuit against the oil company.
Justice Natalie Charlesworth ruled on Wednesday afternoon that Santos could pursue financial records and communications between activist groups – Sunrise, Jubilee Australia and the NT Environment Centre – and the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) in order to determine whether the company will also pursue the campaign organisations for costs for the lawsuit carried out by the EDO on behalf of Tiwi Island traditional owners.
Continue reading...£2.2bn-worth of oil processed in China, India and Turkey – to whom Russia supplies crude – was imported in 2023, data shows
The UK has been accused of “helping Russia pay for its war on Ukraine” by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Kremlin fossil fuels.
Government data analysed by the environmental news site Desmog shows that imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey amounted to £2.2bn in 2023, the same record value as the previous year, up from £434.2m in 2021.
Continue reading...In letter vice-chancellor requested committee not publish joint submission by two academics and redact parts of second submission ‘unfairly’ critical of CDU
Charles Darwin University asked a federal inquiry not to publish submissions by three of its staff after the academics criticised the university’s support for a gas and industrial development on Darwin Harbour.
It comes as the Northern Territory government is due to give evidence in Darwin on Thursday to the Middle Arm inquiry, which is examining the proposed precinct and a $1.5bn investment promised by the Albanese government.
Continue reading...Gas platforms in the area are among the oldest offshore oil and gas operations in the country
The offshore oil and gas regulator is investigating after an undersea gas pipeline ruptured off the Victorian coast, causing a visible “sheen” on the ocean’s surface.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) confirmed it received a notification about a potential spill from ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso on Saturday morning.
Continue reading...ACCC report says region is expected to have surplus of six petajoules in third quarter ‘even if all uncontracted gas is exported’
Australia’s east coast is expected to have a small surplus of gas in the third quarter of 2024, with an improvement in forecast supply since the gas market code was introduced.
Those are the results of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s interim update on gas supply, to be released on Friday, which the Albanese government has said shows new enforceable supply commitments are making a difference.
Continue reading...Despite a 12.3% cut in April’s energy price cap, there is an important fixed element in your bill that is rising again
“Great news! Your unit rates are going down.” E.ON’s letter to customers starts with glad tidings – but, as it soon admits, there is an element of their bills that is set to go up in most parts of the country.
Despite a headline cut of 12.3% in April’s energy price cap, yet again standing charges are rising. In E.ON’s case, on its Next Flex tariff, electricity charges are due to rise from 62.205p to 67.9041p – an increase of just over 9% – while for gas, charges go up from 29.595p to 31.894p (up almost 8%).
Continue reading...Leaders with responsibilities for sea country on way to Canberra to lobby against legislation
The Albanese government is facing major blowback over changes to its offshore gas bill, which the crossbench and environment groups have labelled “window dressing” that fails to prevent new rules watering down First Nations consultation.
Seeking to clear the decks before Easter, the government is expected to reveal tweaks to its proposed vehicle efficiency standards this week. And on Monday Labor introduced amendments to add safeguards to the offshore gas bill after widespread concerns, including from within it own ranks.
Continue reading...Blockades at facilities in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, with protests in Scotland and action expected in Denmark
Climate activists in four countries are blocking access to North Sea oil infrastructure as part of a coordinated pan-European civil disobedience protest.
Blockades have been taking place at oil and gas terminals, refineries and ports in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, in protest at the continued exploitation of North Sea fossil fuel deposits.
Continue reading...Hackney MP says she feels more vulnerable after Tory donor said looking at her makes you ‘want to hate all black women’
Kwasi Kwarteng, the Conservative former chancellor, has said that the remarks about Diane Abbott attributed to Frank Hester were clearly racist and sexist. But he said he did not know for sure that Hester actually used those words.
Speaking on the BBC’s Politics Live, Kwarteng said:
[Those comments] are clearly racist, and they’re clearly sexist.
And I think Diane [Abbott] was right to point out that the call to violence, even in a flippant way, is really inappropriate. So they were very stupid remarks.
Continue reading...Bill also criticised by Greens and Environmental Defenders Office who claim it will help fast-track offshore gas developments
An Indigenous activist who took on Woodside in the federal court has accused Labor of seeking to “silence Aboriginal voices” over changes that may water down consultation requirements for offshore gas development.
Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper, a founder of the organisation Save Our Songlines, has spoken out about a bill that aims to preserve approvals for offshore gas projects against reconsideration if rules are tightened in future.
Continue reading...Investigators previously found blasts that damaged undersea pipelines in 2022 were an act of sabotage
Swedish prosecutors have said they will end their investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in 2022, dodging the question of who destroyed the then new energy link between Russia and Europe shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
After a near 18-month inquiry, the investigators concluded they did not have jurisdiction in the case because Sweden’s citizens and interests had not been harmed.
Continue reading...Thousands of small businesses sue for return of brokers’ fees that often go undisclosed in billing
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Businesses across the UK have been forced to pay an extra 10% on average for their gas and electricity because suppliers routinely add third-party broker commissions to their bills, according to a leading litigation law firm.
Thousands of small businesses have joined a group legal action, led by the law firm Harcus Parker, to claw back up to £2bn in undisclosed broker fees added to their energy bills.
Continue reading...Former Cop26 president abstains from vote saying bill breaks UK’s promise to phase out fossil fuels
Alok Sharma has said the government’s oil and gas bill going through the Commons will not cut household energy costs or create jobs and instead will break the UK’s promise to phase out fossil fuels.
The government’s offshore petroleum licensing bill passed its second reading on Monday night with 293 votes to 211 against. No Conservative MPs voted against it, and Sharma – the former business secretary who served as president of the Cop26 climate talks – abstained. The legislation would place the North Sea Transition Authority under a duty to run annual applications for new offshore oil and gas licences.
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‘No plans to change’ Australia Day, minister says
Speaking on the Today show, Amanda Rishworth is asked about a decision by Cricket Australia to scrap the term Australia Day at the Brisbane Test match this Friday.
We have absolutely no plans to change that. The prime minister has said that on a number of occasions.
I think it is important that we do, though, acknowledge that Australia Day for some people is a difficult day. For others, it’s a day that is the day they became an Australian citizen and that’s really important to them.
This is something you’ve been aware of for several months, in fact, perhaps longer than that. So, why fly to Canberra now?
This year will be a year of delivery. And so at the beginning of the year, it’s not uncommon for political parties to get together. I would suggest that the opposition, from time to time, has flown people to all one place. So, it is a bit two-faced to be criticising the Labor party here. But it will be an important meeting, as will this year be of us continuing to deliver help for Australians.
We don’t have parliament by Zoom. We don’t have a number of political meetings, committee meetings by Zoom. They are done in person. It is important that MPs do get together and actually put their views forward.
Continue reading...Deal aimed at keeping energy bills affordable will see 260 petajoules supplied to gas-fired power stations in Australia’s south-east coast until 2033
Australia’s south-east coast will be further guaranteed gas supply in an effort to keep lights on and energy bills affordable before predicted supply shortages at the decade’s end.
It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has called Labor MPs and senators to Canberra on Wednesday for a snap caucus to discuss further cost-of-living relief measures put forward by Treasury.
Continue reading...Federal court has lifted temporary injunction preventing construction work on part of the pipeline route
Santos’s $5.8bn Barossa offshore gas project has taken another step forward after the federal court dismissed a legal challenge by a group of Tiwi Islanders to the construction of a pipeline.
In a decision on Monday, Justice Natalie Charlesworth dismissed the legal action and lifted a temporary injunction that had prevented Santos from beginning construction work in an area on the pipeline route.
Continue reading...Steven Miles has delivered on two of the environment movement’s most pressing concerns within a week of being sworn-in as premier
The Queensland government will ban new oil and gas developments in the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre basin’s rivers and floodplains – belatedly delivering on a nine-year-old election commitment to reinstate protections for the state’s pristine channel country.
The state’s premier, Steven Miles, will on Friday announce new environmental regulations for the basin, which is among the world’s last unaltered river systems.
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