WOODSIDE TEST CASE ACTION HOTS UP

Gavin McFadzean and Adam Beeson at the Ngaarda Media studios in Roebourne earlier this week.

GEOFF VIVIAN

On a visit to the Pilbara last week, Australian Conservation Foundation lawyer Adam Beeson explained why they were taking Woodside to the Federal Court to try to stop the Scarborough Gas Project.

“It’s ground-breaking in the sense that, at the moment, large fossil fuel projects, which emit a huge amount of Carbon Dioxide and therefore cause climate change or exacerbate climate change, aren’t properly assessed under our national environmental law,” he said.

Mr Beeson said the Scarborough Project would have consequences for other parts of Australia.

“We brought proceedings earlier in the year against Woodside in the Federal Court,” he said. “We’re seeking an injunction from the court that Woodside don’t proceed with the Scarborough Project pending a proper assessment of the climate impacts of that project, and in particular, the climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef.”