John Englart

Climate News May 2025 – Murray Watt new Environment Minister, Browse Gas consultation, Vic Drought, SA Marine Heatwave

Headline

  • Queensland Senator Murray Watt appointed as Albanese Government Environment Minister, with setting up a Federal EPA a very high priority. Read Lyndon Schneiders Op-Ed on Time to get Environmental law reform right. Bob Brown’s unflattering assessment
  • Post election, Nationals still keen on nuclear and dropping 2050 net-zero stance, and Liberals also have put net zero target into post Election policy review. Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen’s view.
  • Maine heatwave and toxic algae killing off species on South Australian Coast
  • Drought conditions in SA and western Victoria worsen. This ABC article explains long term climate trend. Note: Melbourne has recorded the biggest annual drop in water storages since the Millennium Drought, but we still have plenty of water.
  • Climate change increasing pregnancy risks around the world due to extreme heat, including Australia, Climate Central report
  • Gas drilling rig visible offshore to the 12 Apostles
  • Election has given business certainty for renewables energy path investment
  • Climate Wars: Civil war within Coalition Parties on climate and energy policy

Action Item

Timeline

1 June 2025 – North West Shelf gas extension will deliver ‘almost nothing’ to Australia’s public purse https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/01/north-west-shelf-gas-extension-australia-lng-woodside-project-little-rent-tax

31 May 2025 – ‘Seemingly endless fire season’ predicted for Victoria this winter. https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/seemingly-endless-fire-season-predicted-for-victoria-this-winter-20250528-p5m2yb.html

30 May 2025 – Scathing criticism of approval of North Werst Shelf Gas Extension by former WA Labor Premier Carmen Lawrence. Albanese’s gas project extension is more than a mistake. It is a betrayal. https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/albanese-s-gas-project-extension-is-not-just-a-mistake-it-s-a-betrayal-20250530-p5m3hc.html

“The Albanese government’s approval of the North West Shelf gas extension to 2070 is not just a mistake – it’s a devastating blow; a blow to voters who so recently backed a renewable-powered future, to young Australians hopeful for change, to the traditional owners caring for the Murujuga rock art, and to Labor’s own proud tradition of acting for the benefit of all Australians…. It risks wiping out any climate progress this government has made and it tarnishes its legacy. This decision will cast a long shadow over the Albanese government.”

30 May 2025 – Tim Baxter Factchecks Prime Minister’s statement that North West Shelf gas is needed for Energy Transition. Fact Check: Woodside’s North West Shelf extension isn’t needed to firm the Western Australian grid https://timinclimate.medium.com/fact-check-woodsides-north-west-shelf-extension-isn-t-needed-to-firm-the-australian-grid-af2aae4fb492

29 May 2025 – Victoria’s first gas-import terminal a step closer. Viva Energy has won conditional approval from the Allan government for a gas-import terminal in Corio Bay. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victoria-s-first-gas-import-terminal-a-step-closer-20250529-p5m3ed.html

29 May 2025 – Analysis: No one committed to Paris goals can seriously argue Woodside’s LNG project should operate until 2070 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/28/approval-of-woodside-lng-project-gambles-with-ancient-heritage-for-short-term-gain

29 May 2025 – Pocock says voters have ‘buyer’s remorse’ after Labor approves massive gas development’s 40-year extension. Fortescue CEO also says suggestion Australia can lock in fossil fuel projects and claim progress on net zero is ‘concerning’ https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/29/david-pocock-zali-steggall-sarah-hanson-young-north-west-shelf-approval-criticism

29 May 2025 – Great gas giveaway: $215 billion in royalty-free gas for Woodside’s North West Shelf project. Rough calculation of free gas gift by Matt Saunders, senior economist, and Rod Campbell, research director, both with the Australia Institute. https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2025/05/28/woddside-gas-royalty-free

29 May 2025 – PM defends North West Shelf gas extension to 2070, as critics warn about net zero commitment. Anthony Albanese says the continuation of Australia’s largest gas project is necessary to support the transition to net zero by 2050, but all of this gas will be exported, and it may act to displace decarbonisation and renewables growth in Asia. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-29/albanese-defends-woodside-north-west-extension-net-zero/105351380

29 May 2025 – Watt waves through Woodside, and Labor’s light on the hill becomes a gas flare
The newly minted environment minister faced a stark choice: protect the environment, or approve a massive fossil fuel development that will destroy the environment. He chose destruction. https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/05/29/murray-watt-woodside-north-west-shelf-approval-failure-environment/

28 May 2025 – The Safeguard Mechanism helps gas companies take the piss https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-safeguard-mechanism-helps-gas-companies-take-the-piss/

Using the latest data release from the Safeguard Mechanism, here’s a fun collection of facts about the North West Shelf project, and Woodside Energy:

  • Woodside met 100% of its Safeguard target for FY24 using carbon offsets
  • 46% of all offsets bought by oil and gas companies for the safeguard mechanism in FY24 related purely to Woodside’s NWS project
  • The North West Shelf project was the single highest surrenderer of carbon offsets for FY24, nearly double the next (Queensland alumina)
  • 85% of offsets bought by Woodside for NWS’ Safeguard compliance come from highly suspicious methods (landfill gas 40%, HIR 26%, Avoided Def 18%)
  • North West Shelf was the #2 purchaser of the most controversial carbon offset method for FY24 – ‘human induced regeneration‘ – a method so dodgy the government removed the method, but didn’t disallow existing offsets to be used.

28 May 2025 – Woodside’s North West Shelf, Australia’s largest gas project, approved for life extension to 2070 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-28/woodside-gas-approved-north-west-shelf-2070-watt/105347520

28 May 2025 – Environment Minister Murray Watt provisionaly approves North West Shelf Gas Processing Project extension with conditions https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/watt/media-releases/statement-north-west-shelf-gas-processing-project

28 May 2025 – World heritage status denied for rock art due to Burrup gas project pollution. “Documents released overnight show Unesco has deferred a decision on the Murujuga bid, and referred it back to the Australian government so it can “ensure the total removal of degrading acidic emissions” affecting the petroglyphs. Unesco said Australia should develop a decommissioning and rehabilitation plan for existing industrial facilities at the site, which include a liquefied natural gas processing plant operated by Woodside Energy as part of its massive North West Shelf export gas project.” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/may/28/australia-news-live-migration-coalition-liberals-nationals-sussan-ley-david-littleproud-labor-gaza-isreal-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-683680478f08018dd5350cec#block-683680478f08018dd5350cec

27 May 2025 – ‘The spin has been wrong’: rock art expert raises concerns over critical report ahead of Woodside decision. WA State Government released an 800 page report on Murujuga cultural landscape rock art last Friday that it had been sitting on. Executive Summary did not disclose full impact of pollution on rock art in the full report, with claims by experts the summary report has been doctored. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has said he would make a determination on North West Shelf by end of May. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/27/the-spin-has-been-wrong-rock-art-expert-raises-concerns-over-critical-report-ahead-of-woodside-decision

27 May 2025 – Rock art expert says WA government doctored elements of Murujuga rock art report https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-27/murujuga-rock-art-benjamin-smith-government-cover-up/105342280 Listen to Professor Benjamin Smith on Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Report (MRAMP) on ABC Perth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z27FZf1bonc See also ‘It’s a cover-up’: Rock art expert accuses WA government of lying in emissions report https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/it-s-a-cover-up-rock-art-expert-accuses-wa-government-of-lying-in-emissions-report-20250527-p5m2lu.html

26 May 2025 – Glencore Australia’s Ulan Coal Mine expansion near Mudgee approved by NSW Department of Planning with 13 conditions imposed. The Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water had identified 21 native species that could suffer significant impacts as a result of the development, with 17 hectares of native vegetation to be cleared. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-26/ulan-coal-mine-expansion-approved-environmental-concerns/105327044

26 May 2025 – Woodside spills 16,000 litres of oil into ocean north of Ningaloo Reef.
The company that thinks a damaging oil spill from its planned drilling near Scott Reef is “only a mere theoretical possibility” weeks ago accidentally released a cocktail of hydrocarbons, chemicals and water into the Indian Ocean. https://www.boilingcold.com.au/woodside-spills-16-000-litres-of-oil-into-ocean-north-of-ningaloo/

25 May 2025 – Explainer: Reliable energy or ‘carbon bomb’? What’s at stake in the battle over Australia’s North West Shelf https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/25/reliable-energy-or-carbon-bomb-whats-at-stake-in-the-battle-over-australias-north-west-shelf

25 May 2025 – Opinion – Greenwashing is rife in Australia, but could its days be numbered? https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/greenwashing-is-rife-in-australia-but-could-its-days-be-numbered-20250525-p5m1z6.html

22 May 2025 – Murray Watt knocks back objections to Woodside’s North West Shelf extension and clears way for final decision. Environment minister due to decide on controversial plan by end of the month in one of his first major challenges in new portfolio. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/22/murray-watt-knocks-back-objections-to-woodsides-north-west-shelf-extension-and-clears-way-for-final-decision

22 May 2025 – Drivers of SUVs and pick-ups should pay more to be on our roads. Here’s how to make the system fairer. Registration fees by weight would help, but so would a Fossil Ad ban on petrol/diesel vehicles. https://theconversation.com/drivers-of-suvs-and-pick-ups-should-pay-more-to-be-on-our-roads-heres-how-to-make-the-system-fairer-252381

21 May 2025 – Flood disaster emergency NSW mid north coast and Hunter regions due to unprecedented sustained record breaking torrential rain. Remember climate change means a warmer atmosphere carries more moisture: rule of thumb: 7% for each degree of warming. We are at 1.5C. At least 5 deaths, 10,000 properties damaged, 50,000 people relocated.

20 May 2025 – Overshooting 1.5°C: even temporary warming above globally agreed temperature limit could have permanent consequences https://theconversation.com/overshooting-1-5-c-even-temporary-warming-above-globally-agreed-temperature-limit-could-have-permanent-consequences-255523

20 May 2025 – Albanese government must redirect Australia’s near $600 per person annual fossil fuel giveaway https://reneweconomy.com.au/albanese-government-must-redirect-australias-near-600-per-person-annual-fossil-fuel-giveaway/

20 May 2025 – National Native Title Tribunal ruling on Santos Narrabri Gas Project devastates elder https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-20/national-native-title-tribunal-rules-on-narrabri-gas-project/105272428

19 May 2025 – New research shows Australia could cut coal mine methane emissions by half for under $30/tonne CO2e using existing tech like thermal oxidisers and enhanced drainage. With the right supporting frameworks, states can make real, near-term progress toward their climate targets. https://reneweconomy.com.au/coal-mine-methane-is-a-big-problem-for-australia-but-technology-exists-to-help-cut-it/

19 May 2025 – The maps that show how climate change is driving up the cost of insuring Melbourne homes https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/the-maps-that-show-how-climate-change-is-driving-up-the-cost-of-insuring-melbourne-homes-20250513-p5lyv5.html

Insurance Council of Australia: “The Cost of extreme weather is growing.”

Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Andrew Hall called for a 10-year, $30 billion flood defence fund that would be jointly funded by federal and state governments, to develop flood defences, retrofit homes and relocate people where no other mitigation was possible.

“The cost of extreme weather is growing,” he said. “Over the past five years, the annual average insured cost of extreme weather has reached $4.5 billion [nationwide], 64 per cent higher than the previous five-year average.

“This trend is expected to worsen, which is why we must invest in risk reduction, mitigation and adaptation.”

19 May 2025 – Landmark ‘Greenwashing’ Legal Case over ‘Carbon Neutral’ product closes with EnergyAustralia apology to customers https://www.parentsforclimate.org/landmark_greenwashing_legal_case

19 May 2025 – Alan Kohler on the dilemma facing the Liberals: Sussan Ley’s choice: an electable climate policy or sticking with the Nationals. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-19/liberals-nationals-net-zero-climate-change-policy/105301242

19 May 2025 – Why is southern Australia in drought – and when will it end? https://theconversation.com/why-is-southern-australia-in-drought-and-when-will-it-end-256443

18 May 2025 – Divisions on net zero and nuclear power ‘no secret’, senior Liberal frontbencher admits as party braces for internal brawl https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/18/liberal-national-party-coalition-divisions-climate-energy-policy-anne-ruston-tim-obrien

17 May 2025 – Labor’s victory has locked in an ingredient vital to supplying super cheap power. Business certainty on Energy Policy to encourage investment in renewable solutions. https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/labor-s-victory-has-locked-in-an-ingredient-vital-to-supplying-super-cheap-power-20250513-p5lyue.html

17 May 2025 – Op Ed by Peter Hartcher: Why Trump’s a term-long problem for the Coalition. “The climate war inside the Coalition is already afoot. It was the Coalition under Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce that started the climate wars as a way to wreck Labor. And, for a while, it worked. But now the climate war is a civil war within the Coalition. So the victim of the war will be the Coalition.” https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/why-trump-s-a-term-long-problem-for-the-coalition-20250516-p5lzr4.html

17 May 2025 – Explainer: Everything you need to know about Australia’s new home battery subsidy https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/17/everything-you-need-to-know-about-australias-new-home-battery-subsidy

16 May 2025 – Federal EPA a ‘very high and immediate’ priority of Albanese government, environment minister says. Murray Watt is also considering ditching the ‘nature positive’ title for Labor’s overhaul of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/16/federal-epa-a-very-high-and-immediate-priority-of-albanese-government-environment-minister-says

16 May 2025 – Analysis reveals Victoria’s coal-fired power stations are ‘unreliable’ as closures near. Reason enough for the rapid renewables and battery storage being undertaken. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-16/coal-reliability-report-outages-loy-yang-yallourn-latrobe-valley/105296552

14 May 2025 – Chris Bowen mocks Liberals’ equivocation on ‘bare minimum’ target of net zero by 2050. Climate change and energy minister accuses Sussan Ley’s Coalition of ‘keeping the climate wars going’ with decision to review net zero stance https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/14/chris-bowen-mocks-liberal-party-equivocation-on-net-zero-2050-target

14 May 2025 – Extreme heat risks to pregnancy driven by climate change: Oceania
2020 to 2024. New report by Climate Central looking at extreme heat risks to pregnancy and the change for the years 2020-2024. Report: Climate change increasing pregnancy risks around the world due to extreme heat https://www.climatecentral.org/report/pregnancy-heat-risks
For Melbourne: 15 days observed. 7 days added by climate change. 47% increase due to climate change. https://climatecentral.observablehq.cloud/pregnancy-heat-risks/regions/oceania

14 May 2025 – Research shows SUVs and light trucks are among the most deadly vehicles https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/auto/2025/05/14/suv-research-deadly

14 May 2025 – Woodside’s proposed changes to Browse gas development explained as public consultation opens https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-14/woodside-browse-gas-development-explainer-environmental-fears/105286166

13 May 2025 – Marine Heatwave: ‘A horror movie’: sharks and octopuses among 200 species killed by toxic algae off South Australia. Karenia mikimotoi algae can suffocate fish, cause haemorrhaging and act as a neurotoxin, one expert says. According to the state’s environment department, the algal bloom was being driven by an ongoing marine heatwave – with water temperatures 2.5C hotter than usual. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/13/a-horror-movie-sharks-and-octopuses-among-200-species-killed-by-toxic-algae-off-south-australia

13 May 2025 – To the new environment minister, Murray Watt: it’s time to get reforms right, by Lyndon Schneiders, executive director of the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation. Long-term reform is not going to be easy, but we have wasted 15 years and everyone has lost, especially the natural world https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/13/to-the-new-environment-minister-murray-watt-its-time-to-get-reforms-right

13 May 2025 – Metro tunnel enables Turn up and go trains… just not for the Upfield line . State Government to increase frequency to 20 minutes for the Upfield line for late nights and weekends. But promised 70% increase in capacity when Metro Tunnel opens looks like a political fail. https://upfieldtransportalliance.org/2025/05/13/turn-up-and-go-trains-just-not-for-the-upfield-line/

13 May 2025 – Public consultation reopened over Woodside’s Browse gas plan in wake of modifications https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-13/woodside-amends-contentious-gas-extension-plans-wa/105284060

12 May 2025 – Woodside overhauls Browse Gas plan as environmental watchdog goes back to the public. WA EPA reopening public consultation on Woodside’s $30 billion Browse gas export project after the energy giant overhauled the contentious plan. Woodside had sought approval to develop one of the three gas fields it discovered more than 50 years ago, about 425 kilometres north of Broome, and pipe gas 1000 kilometres to the 40-year-old North West Shelf plant for processing. https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/woodside-overhauls-browse-plan-as-environmental-watchdog-goes-back-to-the-public-20250512-p5lyku.html
Note: See WA EPA: Submissions can be made via the EPA’s consultation hub until 10 June 2025.

12 May 2025 – ‘Getting barer by the day’: drought conditions in SA and Victoria worsen, leaving rural communities in the dust. Farmers are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on hay as the promised winter rain is pushed back until June. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/12/getting-barer-by-the-day-drought-conditions-in-sa-and-victoria-worsen-leaving-rural-communities-in-the-dust
What this article doesn’t mention is that Climate Change is making droughts more frequent and more intense in SE Australia, Part of a long term trend driving rain fronts further south reducing rainfall. See Will Steffen (2015) Thirsty Country: Climate Change and Drought in Australia. Also increased temperatures and reduced soil moisture are factors.

12 May 2025 – Discussion of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) by ocean dumping of biomass. Geoengineers eye up ocean ‘dead zones’ for carbon storage https://dialogue.earth/en/climate/geoengineers-eye-up-ocean-dead-zones-for-carbon-storage/

10 May 2025 – As the deadline looms on Woodside’s major WA gas project, what’s at stake for Labor? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-10/labor-decision-woodside-north-shelf-carries-risks/105267038

8 May 2025 – New report shows climate change exacerbating mental health costs: Doctors say Albanese government must act now https://www.dea.org.au/new_report_shows_climate_change_exacerbating_mental_health_costs_doctors_say_albanese_government_must_act_now

8 May 2025 – Drought in South Australia, Victoria a hint at lasting shift in rainmaking weather patterns https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-08/southern-australias-heat-and-drought-explained/105264074

7 May 2025 – Examining the unprecedented lifetime exposure to climate extremes.
Grant, L., Vanderkelen, I., Gudmundsson, L. et al. Global emergence of unprecedented lifetime exposure to climate extremes. Nature 641, 374–379 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08907-1

Click to see Abstract excerpt:

“We project that the birth cohort fraction facing this unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves, crop failures, river floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical cyclones will at least double from 1960 to 2020 under current mitigation policies aligned with a global warming pathway reaching 2.7 °C above pre-industrial temperatures by 2100. Under a 1.5 °C pathway, 52% of people born in 2020 will experience unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves. If global warming reaches 3.5 °C by 2100, this fraction rises to 92% for heatwaves, 29% for crop failures and 14% for river floods. The chance of facing unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves is substantially larger among population groups characterized by high socioeconomic vulnerabilities. “

7 May 2025 – Schöngart, S., Nicholls, Z., Hoffmann, R. et al. High-income groups disproportionately contribute to climate extremes worldwide. Nat. Clim. Chang. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02325-x

5 May 2025 – Cost of emissions from five major Australian resource companies more than $900bn, study finds. US researchers link BHP, Rio Tinto, Santos, Whitehaven Coal and Woodside Energy to specific climate harms over three decades. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/05/cost-of-emissions-from-five-major-australian-resource-companies-more-than-900bn-study-finds
Read the study: Callahan, C.W., Mankin, J.S. Carbon majors and the scientific case for climate liability. Nature 640, 893–901 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08751-3

1 May 2025 – Gas drilling off Great Ocean Road dangerous and unnecessary https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/gas-drilling-off-great-ocean-road-dangerous-and-unnecessary/

1 May 2025 – Doctors challenge WA’s Scarborough gas field Environment Plan approval https://www.dea.org.au/doctors_challenge_scarborough_gas_field_environment_plan_approval

30 April 2025 – NT Middle Arm development that Federal Government has allocated $1.5 billion subsidy: Leaked document shows two threatened species could be wiped out at Middle Arm development site. Conservation advocates say assessment shows controversial NT project ‘shouldn’t get past the starting gun’ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/29/leaked-document-shows-two-threatened-species-could-be-wiped-out-at-middle-arm-development-site

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