Conservation Council of WA’s Post

𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 “𝐠𝐚𝐬-𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲” 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 The Wilderness Society condemns the Albanese Government’s “future gas strategy” for putting the interests of the world’s fossil fuel companies ahead of a safe climate for all and the protection of Australia’s unique and world-class natural environment. The gas industry should be on notice that this government bail-out package is not going to stop the industry’s inevitable decline and will fail to turn around the record low investment in projects. As was the case with Morrison’s “gas fired recovery”, today’s announcement will not magically address the fossil fuel industry’s absence of a social licence, or the structural decline of the gas sector. Tim Beshara, Manager of Policy and Strategy at the Wilderness Society says, “Australia’s fossil fuel industries are past their use-by date and bailing them out ignores the need for Australians to have a safe climate. “The Morrison Government tried to bail out the industry with its reprehensible “gas-fired recovery” launched in response to Covid-19 and it didn’t stop the industry’s decline. It’s an error by the Albanese Government to direct resources away from the necessary energy transition, towards propping up an industry that is completely misaligned with Australia’s national interest. “The Albanese Government is attempting to give public relations cover to a “future gas industry” when there simply isn’t more gas that is aligned with a climate that is safe for nature and people. “The Albanese Government is tying its political fortunes to a declining bad-faith industry that operates in a regulatory system that does not ensure a fair say for communities, and that attempts to trample on clear opposition from First Nations groups such as the Gomeroi. The Government would do well to remember that tying itself to fossil fuel interests like this worked out badly for the Morrison Government and is part of the undertow bringing down the Sunak government in the UK. https://lnkd.in/emQ25Jmb

⚖ Climate campaigners hail ‘landmark’ UK Supreme Court judgment Greenpeace UK and Friends of the Earth "intervened in the case. Mel Evans, climate campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: 'This is a huge win for the climate. The courts have finally recognised that the government can’t ignore emissions released by burning fossil fuels when granting drilling licences. Governments will have to confront what energy experts have long been saying: new oil and gas developments are totally incompatible with the UK’s climate commitments. We now need robust government action to bring the UK’s oil and gas sector in line with our climate commitments and properly support affected workers into good, secure jobs in the renewables sector.’" #climatelitigation #oilproduction #unitedkingdom #UK #climatecrisis

Yesterday emerged a major decision from the UK Supreme Court - that decision-makers must now consider emissions from burning oil & gas when assessing the environmental impact of a fossil fuel project. “On to the decision itself: requiring decision-makers to take into account the emissions from burning oil & gas when assessing the environmental impact of an O&G project is manifestly common sense. As the court has agreed, it is inevitable that the oil & gas will be burned and that greenhouse gas emissions will flow from that.” Tessa Khan Fossil fuel projects in other jurisdictions including Ireland may be impacted by this decision. Aviation, agriculture, manufacturing etc should also take note. #ClimateRisk #ClimateLitigation #Scope3 https://lnkd.in/dUaz_YxK

Many of us are concerned about the future of climate and renewable energy policy under the new Trump administration, along with a Republican Senate and likely Republican House. And we’re right to be concerned. However, I don’t want us to forget the other environmental issues that could be under threat. In particular, I have deep concerns in two broad areas: ·       Toxics policy and management We will see significant shifts at EPA, leading to much more industry-friendly approaches to toxic chemical regulation. Messages from Lee Zeldin, the probable EPA head under Trump, are clear. Improve the economy through less regulation and industry-positive policies. I could see a push to streamline TSCA and FIFRA to ease (read speed up) the process of chemical review and approval. I also believe we will see a move to expedite closure of Superfund NPL sites. After all, that’s exactly what happened in the first Trump presidency. And I suspect the Clean Air Act will experience some gutting as well. Control of methane emissions from petroleum production may at best get little attention, and at worst be completely shut down. ·       Public land protection I fully expect to see the opening of public lands to more petroleum production and minerals exploration. I doubt that there will be any effort to continue the 30 by 30 policy (30% of public land in the US protected by 2030), and in fact that may go the other direction. ANWR will be assaulted again. No doubt the Endangered Species Act will itself be endangered. I think our National Parks will be relatively safe, although they may be hit by budget cuts. However, National Monuments may be a different story. We saw how the previous Trump administration took the unprecedented step to reduce the size of National Monuments established by previous presidents under the Antiquities Act. There is also talk of the Forest Service seeing significant cuts, which could impact resource management, fire protection, wilderness protection, and recreation. So it will be vital to support environmental NGO’s and community activists, and to raise voices to our elected officials. It will be a rough ride for environmental policy, and likely impacted communities, over the next four years. But we must remain vigilant. We have to avoid despair and despondence. We must also remain civil, speaking with strength and respect. I am hopeful that the momentum we have seen with large companies adopting solid climate efforts will continue. I am less hopeful that we will see the same movement from industries under reduced regulations on toxics management and increased access to public lands. Let’s be ready to move forward. I am.

Regulatory uncertainty seems to be the theme for 2025 and specifically on #scope3 #emissions. Following a UK Supreme Court decision in June (#Finchcase), today a Scottish Court has taken the same approach (retroactively!) deciding that downstream emissions from #fossilfuel extraction projects must be assessed as part of #environmentalimpactassessments. Will this judgement become a trend that continues across the UK, Europe, and possibly other jurisdictions - it's simply too early to say - but this emerging approach is important for the #energyindustry to be aware of. #ESGLaw #ESGlegalrisk #sustainability #netzero #EIA #climate

🌎🏭 UK SUPREME COURT'S LANDMARK RULING PUTS FUTURE FOSSIL FUEL PROJECTS IN JEOPARDY Future fossil fuel extraction projects in the UK are in jeopardy, thanks to a landmark ruling by the supreme court, which has declared that the full environmental impact of oil, gas and coal must be considered in planning applications. The judgement sets a crucial precedent in whether the downstream or scope 3 emissions of a fossil fuel project – which include the emissions from using or burning these fuels, not just extracting them – should be taken into account. The case relates to an oil drilling project at Horse Hill in Surrey, whose planning permission was extended by the local council in 2019. It was initiated by campaigner Sarah Finch (on behalf of the Weald Action Group), who challenged the decision and argued it should have accounted for the full scope of greenhouse gas emissions. While she lost in the high court and the court of appeal, the supreme court in London ruled in her favour in a narrow three-to-two majority, quashing the planning approval as unlawful. “The whole purpose of extracting fossil fuels is to make hydrocarbons available for combustion,” the court’s judgement read. “It can therefore be said with virtual certainty that, once oil has been extracted from the ground, the carbon contained within it will sooner or later be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and so will contribute to global warming.” “This is a welcome step towards a safer, fairer future,” added Finch. “The oil and gas companies may act like business-as-usual is still an option, but it will be very hard for planning authorities to permit new fossil fuel developments – in the Weald, the North Sea or anywhere else – when their true climate impact is clear for all to see.” The supreme court judges didn’t rule that Surrey County Council should reject new oil well proposals, but that it should have considered the downstream emissions. It also doesn’t prevent public bodies from approving projects with major climate impacts, but it bolsters their case for refusal. The ruling throws the future of fossil fuel projects into uncertainty. #GreenQueen #climatechange #climateaction #emissions #fossilfuels #sustainability

The Pathways Alliance, whose six members account for about 95% of Canada’s oil sands production, has scrubbed all messaging from its website and social media feeds, citing uncertainty over a new anti-greenwashing rule poised to become federal law. Pathways members have publicly committed to reaching net-zero emissions from oil sands production by 2050. The consortium previously spent millions of dollars on public relations campaigns, declaring that the oil sands are committed to helping fight climate change. However, independent analysts have noted a growing gap between these promises and the need for emission reductions as the sector continues increasing its climate pollution. Read Mitchell Beer's thoughts here. https://lnkd.in/eHyzzXt6 The Energy Mix,  The Canadian Press, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) , Lisa A. Baiton, MBA, ICD.D,  Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), Justin Trudeau, bouchard mc, Pembina Institute,  Ecojustice Canada, Équiterre, Marc-André Viau,  the Quebec Association of Environmental Auditing Calgary Herald, Government of Alberta Rebecca Schulz, #climatechange #climatechangenews #climate #climatenews #climatereporting #climatedata #climatereport #climateinvesting #climateeconomy #climatefinace #climatescience #climateeducation #climatecompliance #esg #esgnews #esgreport #esgdata #esgreporting #esginvesting #esgfinance #esgeconomy #economy #investing #finance #greeninvesting #greeneconomy #greenfinance #greennews #jobs #jobnews #jobreport #linkedinjobs #usa #biden #presidentbiden #2024election #linkedin #linkedinnews #canada #oilsands #oilsandsindustry #oilandgas #oilindustry #climatebusiness #climateandcapital #climatemedia #oilnews #oilandgas #greenenergy #canadajobs #canadaeconomy #canadanews #canadabusiness

Future impact of proposed fossil fuel projects must be assessed, UK court rules https://lnkd.in/ex8StZwa About time... #planning #fossilfuels #climateimpact #climateemergency

https://lnkd.in/dSyZ7Pkp The UK Supreme Court handed down a landmark judgement today stating that the downstream effects of burning fossil fuels (greenhouse gas emissions) should be considered by local authorities when granting permission for drilling sites, and not just the narrow impact of extracting it. The ruling is being heralded as a win for the climate. #ESG #litigation