Thursday 3 July 2025
The Environment Centre Northern Territory is dismayed that the Albanese Government is spinning one of the world’s largest carbon dumping projects as a ‘low carbon' project while opening the floodgates to massive gas expansion across the Northern Territory.
In a move many would label as greenwashing, the Albanese Government has designated the Bonaparte Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project, 250km northwest of Darwin as a Major Project and claimed it will “enable the development of low-carbon industries in the region”.
In fact, the joint venture between some of Australia’s biggest polluters and fossil fuel companies - Inpex, Woodside and TotalEnergies - could subject Northern Territory residents to the world’s largest carbon dumping project.
Environment Centre NT Senior Climate Campaigner Bree Ahrens said:
“The Australian government has no business helping the fossil fuel industry greenwash its dangerous gas expansion in the Territory under the guise of clean energy.
“Carbon capture and storage remains an unproven technology at scale, and marketing it as 'renewable energy' is misleading and offensive to Australians who are bearing the brunt of worsening climate change.
“There's nothing renewable about carbon capture and storage - it's a fossil fuel industry's excuse to keep extracting coal and gas while pretending to care about climate change.”
The Environment Centre NT is concerned the fast-tracking of one of the world’s largest carbon dumping projects will enable a massive expansion of the gas production in the Northern Territory, by greenwashing the planned expansion of Inpex Ichthys LNG, the Middle Arm gas and petrochemical hub, fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, and Santos’ toxic Barossa project.
A carbon import terminal is also planned for the $1.5 billion federally funded Middle Arm industrial precinct in Darwin Harbour, paving the way for carbon pollution to be imported via ships from Korea and Japan by 2030.
CSIRO modelling estimates that, without climate action, the number of days above 35 degrees in Darwin could increase from 22.2 days to 275 days per year in 2070.
“Climate change will make the Northern Territory unliveable within decades, yet the government is sacrificing our future for the gas industry - from Santos’ Barossa pipeline, to fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, to Inpex’s planned expansion, to the Middle Arm gas and petrochemical hub,” said Ms Ahrens.
“The Top End is being turned into a sacrifice zone so the gas industry can line its pockets while our health, communities and environment are destroyed.
“We’re calling on the Albanese Government to listen to voters and stop the gas industry from turning the Territory into the world’s carbon dumping ground.”
Background:
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Inpex and Woodside have been labelled by the Climate Council as part of Australia’s ‘dirty dozen’ fossil fuel companies.
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The Barossa gas pipeline, approved in the midst of the Federal election, has been labelled Australia’s dirtiest gas project.
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The NT Government's own fracking Inquiry estimated that opening the Beetaloo to fracking would lead to more than 6,000 fracking wells.
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Tying these projects together is the proposed gas and petrochemical processing hub slated for Middle Arm – which will use gas from Beetaloo and Barossa to establish high-risk and high emission industries on Darwin Harbour.
ENDS
Contact details:
For further information contact ECNT Senior Media Specialist - Jem Wilson: 0481 959 745
