Category Archives: Gas

Mark McGowan phone call allegation puts fossil fuel influence in WA under new spotlight

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Carmen Lawrence says former premier’s behaviour, if true, is ‘certainly improper’ and ‘ethically questionable’ and shows power of oil and gas interests

Claims that the former Western Australia premier Mark McGowan directly put pressure on the independent Environmental Protection Authority to withdraw climate guidelines opposed by gas companies are evidence of the fossil fuel industry’s “ownership” of the state, senior figures say.

Carmen Lawrence, another former Labor premier, said McGowan’s alleged behaviour four years ago, if true, was “certainly improper”, “ethically questionable” and “illustrated the power that fossil fuels have to influence the government” in the state.

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WA police condemned for ‘shocking’ demand for ABC to hand over footage of climate protesters

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Civil society groups call on broadcaster not to comply with order they say is an ‘alarming overreach’ and ‘undermines press freedom’

Civil society groups have accused Western Australia police of undermining press freedom by demanding the ABC hand over Four Corners footage of climate protesters, and urged the broadcaster to protect its journalists’ sources.

In response to the police demand the ABC’s managing director, David Anderson, has said the broadcaster would never reveal its sources, but he did not rule out handing over the vision.

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UK go-ahead for North Sea oil and gas field angers environmental groups

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Campaigners including Greta Thunberg had called for halt to Rosebank project involving Oslo-listed Equinor

Britain has given the go-ahead to develop the UK’s biggest untapped oilfield off Shetland, sparking outrage from environmental campaigners.

The UK oil and gas regulator’s decision to grant the Oslo-listed Equinor and the British firm Ithaca Energy permission to develop the Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea was condemned by the Green party MP Caroline Lucas as “the greatest act of environmental vandalism in my lifetime”.

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Petrostate windfall tax would help poor countries in climate crisis, says Brown

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Former British PM calls for 3% levy on oil and gas export revenues of biggest producers to generate $25bn a year for global south

Petrostates should pay a small percentage of their soaring oil and gas revenues to help poor countries cope with the climate crisis, the former UK prime minister Gordon Brown has urged.

Countries with large oil and gas deposits have enjoyed a record bonanza in the last two years, amounting to about $4tn (£3.3tn) last year for the industry globally. Levying a 3% windfall tax on the oil and gas export revenues of the biggest-producing countries would yield about $25bn a year.

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Russia temporarily bans export of petrol and diesel to stabilise domestic market

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Four ex-Soviet states excepted from ban, which has been prompted by railway bottlenecks and weak rouble

Russia has temporarily banned exports of petrol and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect, in order to stabilise the domestic market.

“Temporary restrictions will help saturate the fuel market, which in turn will reduce prices for consumers,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

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Australian governments need to set clear policy direction for gas sector, says regulator

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As a growing number of householders turn off the gas, the fossil fuel sector will need clear policy direction from government, says energy regulator

The Australian Energy Regulator says it will be up to governments to “set clear policy direction” for the gas sector as more households ditch the fossil fuel, and bans on new connections spread from Victoria to other jurisdictions.

The AER in June set a $220 standard fee for Victorian households to disconnect from gas in its 2023-28 access agreement. New South Wales is next up, with a decision on its pricing due before next June, with those for the ACT and South Australia to follow a year later.

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EU imports of Russian liquified gas leap by 40% since Ukraine invasion

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Pipeline flows from Russia have fallen to historic lows, but shipments of LNG from all over the world have surged

EU imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) have increased by 40% since the invasion of Ukraine despite efforts to cut down supplies.

Member states have bought more than half of Russia’s LNG on the market in the first seven months of this year, according to analysis of data by Kpler, which tracks marine and tanker traffic.

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Activists hit with restraining orders lawyer claims will stop them speaking out about Woodside

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Fossil fuel company denies orders granted after incident at CEO’s home are intended to prevent campaigners from speaking out

Four activists have been hit with violence restraining orders that their lawyer says prevents them from making any public reference to Woodside’s CEO and effectively stops them from speaking out about the company.

The interim court orders were issued to activists charged in relation to an incident at the home of Meg O’Neill and “were sought to protect Ms O’Neill’s family’s safety”, a Woodside spokesperson confirmed.

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Woodside faces Indigenous legal challenge to seismic blasting at WA gas site

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Traditional owner alleges company failed to adequately consult on effect of Scarborough project blasting on sea country

A traditional owner has filed a legal challenge to the approval of seismic blasting for Woodside’s Scarborough offshore gas project in Western Australia.

Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper is seeking a judicial review of the offshore petroleum regulator Nopsema’s decision to grant the approval despite concerns consultation with traditional owners had been inadequate.

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Scottish public spending deficit falls as oil revenues hit record high

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Both sides of constitutional debate use Gers data to argue case for and against independence

Scotland’s public spending deficit has fallen from a record peak last year, as oil and gas revenues reached their highest-ever level after a global rise in oil prices.

The government expenditure and revenue Scotland (Gers) report calculated a per-person deficit – the gap between the amount raised through all tax and spending on all public services – as £1,521 in the 2022-23 financial year, down from £2,184 the previous year.

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Amazon leaders fail to commit to end deforestation by 2030

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Eight South American presidents including Brazil’s Lula say rich countries need to pledge more resources to help protect rainforest

Amazon leaders have called on rich countries to help them develop a Marshall-style plan to protect the world’s largest rainforest – but stopped short of committing to zero deforestation across the biome by 2030 amid divisions over oil extraction.

In a joint declaration at the end of a two-day summit in the Brazilian city of Belém on Wednesday, the eight South American countries that are home to the Amazon rainforest said ensuring its survival could not be solely up to them, as resources from the forest were consumed globally.

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Australia politics live: Pocock claims Labor adopting Coalition’s ‘gas-led recovery’ and doing bare minimum on climate crisis

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Doctors press Labor over NT gas projects

More than 2,000 doctors, GPs and health professionals have now signed a letter to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, demanding the government reconsider subsidising the Middle Arm project and “intervene to prevent gas fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, acknowledging that the emissions cannot be fully offset”.

We do not want these industries to be established in Darwin due to the risk they pose to the population and the risk they pose to the whole of Australia by driving the climate crisis.

We would like governments around Australia to put the health of their people first and understand the principle of first do no harm when considering the approval of projects like this.

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Starmer says Sunak’s lack of investment in wind power is ‘gift to Putin’

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Labour leader claims Conservatives’ onshore turbine ban costs families £180 each and makes UK reliant on gas imports

Keir Starmer has condemned the prime minister’s climate policies, declaring the failure to invest in renewables such as wind turbines a “gift to Putin”.

The Labour leader also described the Conservatives’ onshore wind ban as “ludicrous” and said it now means every family in the country is paying £180 more on their energy bills.

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Help with UK energy bills unlikely this winter, suggests Grant Shapps

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Energy secretary says government wants to focus on cutting taxes once inflation falls

Grant Shapps has suggested it is unlikely the government will step in to protect households from rising energy bills this winter.

The energy secretary said in an interview with the Times that once inflation had fallen the government would “absolutely” need to cut taxes.

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Will Ghana’s gas gamble perpetuate a cycle of fossil-fuel related debt?

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West African country is enduring hard times – and critics say plan to import liquefied natural gas will only make things worse

John Gakpo has milled corn to make kenkey – a cornmeal dumpling and Ghana’s staple food – in a dimly lit wooden shack in a suburb of the capital, Accra, for 15 years.

In the past, his earnings have been sufficient to provide for his family – but not any more.

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Climate activists target Woodside CEO’s home in protest, company claims

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Meg O’Neill says protesters trespassed at her Perth home on Tuesday amid climate backlash over Burrup Hub expansion

Climate activists have targeted the family home of Woodside Energy’s boss in what the company claimed was the escalation of protests over its gas business.

The firm’s chief executive, Meg O’Neill, said “extremist” protesters accompanied by camera crews trespassed on Tuesday morning at her Perth home in the affluent suburb of City Beach.

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Leak reveals ‘touchy’ issues for UAE’s presidency of UN climate summit

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Exclusive: Long list of ‘sensitive’ topics for petrostate include oil and gas production, emissions and Yemen war crimes

A comprehensive list of “touchy and sensitive issues” for the United Arab Emirates, which is running the next UN climate summit, has been revealed in a document leaked to the Guardian.

The document sets out the government-approved “strategic messages” to be used in response to media requests about the issues, which range from the UAE’s increasing production of oil and gas to people trafficking.

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NSW won’t ban gas in new homes as premier declares ‘I don’t need another complication’

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Chris Minns rules out following Victoria in banning new gas connections, saying state has enough serious energy challenges

Homes in New South Wales will continue being built with gas connections after the premier, Chris Minns, ruled out a Victorian-style ban on new connections, saying the state already had enough energy supply issues.

The definitive comments came after the state’s energy minister, Penny Sharpe, on Sunday refused to rule out the possibility of the state following Victoria.

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Woodside LNG: Australia’s ‘biggest’ contribution to climate crisis a step closer to 50-year extension

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WA EPA dismisses most grounds of appeal against extension of operation licence for gas processing facility in the Pilbara

One of Australia’s biggest fossil fuel developments is a step closer to having its life extended for nearly 50 years after Western Australian officials dismissed appeals arguing it should be stopped on climate science and cultural grounds.

More than 750 organisations and individuals last year lodged objections to a WA Environment Protection Authority (EPA) recommendation that oil and gas company Woodside be allowed to operate its gas processing facility in the Pilbara until 2070.

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New North Sea oil and gas fields ‘will not meet UK’s energy needs’

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Plans would only supply Britain with fossil fuels for an additional three weeks a year, analysis finds

New oil and gas fields in the North Sea would produce only enough gas to satisfy the UK’s needs for a few weeks a year, with a minimal impact on energy security, analysis has found.

Fields now under consideration would supply at most an additional three weeks of gas a year to the UK, from 2024 to 2050, even if none of the gas was exported.

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