Protect Scott Reef from carbon pollution dumping

Woodside recently released an updated environmental referral for Browse carbon dumping.

The updated documents reveal new information about the scale of the proposal and its impacts on Scott Reef.

Compared with the previous proposal, the updated referral shows:

• The proposed seismic blasting area is now just over 6 km from Scott Reef, compared with around 21 km previously, 15 km closer than first proposed.
• The proposal covers more than 4,500 km² of ocean and would operate for 50 years, not including the several decades required for monitoring through seismic blasting and clean-up.
• Twenty-eight threatened species and 27 migratory marine species may be affected.
• Additional species, including Omura’s whales and hawksbill turtles, have been identified as potentially impacted.
• Mitigation measures for endangered pygmy blue whales have been reduced, increasing the likelihood of exposure to seismic surveys during important migration periods.

The updated referral increases, rather than reduces, concerns about the risks to one of Australia’s most important marine ecosystems.

Carbon pollution dumping has been falsely promoted as a way to reduce emissions by capturing carbon dioxide and storing it beneath the seabed, but in reality, it’s a technology that overpromises and underperforms.

Even if nothing goes wrong, fossil gas projects like Browse can still only capture 3–4% of their total emissions, and over 78% of projects have failed since the 1970s. Even the ones that do get off the ground can capture as little as 10% of the CO₂ they claim to.¹

This means that over a billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions would still be released from Woodside’s adjoining Browse gas proposal. The minuscule amount that is captured and pumped under the seabed would require decades of seismic blasting to monitor it.

Carbon pollution dumping is being used to support the expansion of offshore fossil gas production, while introducing long-term industrial activity into a globally significant marine ecosystem.

Scott Reef should be protected, not turned into an industrial dumping site for carbon pollution.

Seismic blasting is loud, relentless and harmful to marine life.

Carbon pollution dumping projects rely on repeated seismic “surveys” to monitor stored carbon waste beneath the seabed. This means up to 48 underwater airguns blasting every five seconds, 24 hours a day while a survey is being conducted. This continues for decades after a project begins.² ³

These powerful underwater explosions can disrupt whales and turtles, interfere with migration and feeding, and kill zooplankton, the tiny animals that form the foundation of the ocean food web.

Research has found seismic airgun blasts can kill zooplankton up to 1.2 km away, reducing an important food source for species including endangered pygmy blue whales.

The updated referral also reduces mitigation measures previously proposed for pygmy blue whales, increasing the likelihood they will be exposed to seismic blasting during important migration periods.

Scott Reef has existed for more than 15 million years.

It is home to endangered whales, genetically distinct green turtles, dusky sea snakes, coral reefs and countless other marine species.

The updated Browse carbon pollution dumping proposal identifies potential impacts to 28 threatened species and 27 migratory marine species.

It also acknowledges risks associated with decades of industrial activity, including underwater noise, offshore infrastructure and marine traffic in an ecologically significant region.

Oil spills and pollution from offshore operations also pose a serious threat to marine wildlife, particularly turtles and other animals that rely on the ocean surface.

If approved, the Browse gas proposal would allow Woodside to turn the waters near Scott Reef into a dumping ground for fossil fuel pollution.