Environment Matters 2021: The People v Big Pollution

An update by CCWA and EDO lawyers on the landmark legal case to challenge the environmental approval decisions for Woodside’s Burrup Hub.

The Woodside Burrup Hub LNG expansion would be Australia’s most polluting fossil fuel project, producing around four times the carbon pollution of the proposed Adani coal mine. Despite the risks to the climate and Aboriginal heritage, the EPA have issued approvals for the Burrup Hub project without a full assessment of environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions continuing past 2050.

Over a year ago, the West Australian EPA quietly approved changes which would allow Woodside to process gas from giant new gas fields as part of its Burrup Hub LNG expansion project in Northwest WA.

The LNG industry is already WA’s largest source of carbon pollution, but the industry is not just damaging the climate. According to experts, acid gas pollution is also impacting the unique Murujuga Rock Art, proposed for World Heritage Listing on the Burrup Peninsula.

The Conservation Council of Western Australia has commenced litigation in the WA Supreme Court in a bid to overturn these decisions.

At this exclusive event, CCWA’s Executive Director and EDO lawyers provide a briefing on the landmark court case. They explain why this litigation is essential in the global fight for a safe climate, and to uphold Western Australia’s environment laws.