The Australian gas export industry is scrambling to keep operations open as category four Cyclone Narelle batters the WA coast.
The extreme weather event has exposed the industry for just how vulnerable it is during periods of dangerous weather, which ironically, are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change driven by pollution from the gas industry.
The multiple shutdowns at Gorgon, North West Shelf and Wheatstone gas export plants, come at a time when the world is grappling with a major fuel crisis which highlights the urgent need for reliable energy independence.
"The current situation paints a bleak picture – extreme weather combined with global insecurity – shows how risky and vulnerable the Australian gas export industry is," said ACF Climate and Energy Exports campaigner Piper Rollins.
"These problems aren't going away – weather or war – Australia needs to break its addiction to fossil fuels.
"The irony is these gas export plants are having to shut because they're getting smashed by yet another climate-fuelled cyclone, which are being made worse and more frequent by gas pollution.
"It's a tough reality for northern WA residents who are sheltering, again, from a catastrophic storm front and will have to cop the economic and environmental costs of these gas-fuelled climate disasters.
"Australia is now the second largest exporter of gas overseas. No matter where in the world Australian gas is burnt, it returns home in the form of extreme weather – cyclones, bushfires, heatwaves and floods.
"When will gas companies like Chevron and Woodside learn that their business is coming back to bite them in the form of extreme weather?
"The solution is renewable energy, built in the right places, that is good for nature and pays real royalties back to communities.
"Australians are on the frontline of the climate crisis and Big Gas is a major problem."
