With record temperatures, catastrophic floods in Queensland and extreme fire danger across half the country, the national environment group is demanding the Albanese government halt its reckless expansion of the gas industry, which is driving more dangerous and costly disasters.
"This heatwave is a sobering reminder of the consequences of successive Australian governments that have prioritised fossil fuel corporate profiteering over a safe climate," Acting Climate and Energy Program Manager Annika Reynolds (they/them) said.
"The increase in dangerous climate disasters is making Australians unsafe and threatening the people and places we care about and love.
"Let's be crystal clear: no matter where Australian coal and gas is burnt, it fuels extreme heat and bushfires here at home.
"Australians are joining the dots between the gas industry and extreme heat; it's time the Albanese government did too."
ACF is challenging Environment Minister Murray Watt's approval of Woodside's North West Shelf gas hub extension, which is the centrepiece of the most polluting gas project in the Southern Hemisphere.
Under the terms of Minister Watt's approval, Woodside's gas hub in WA can keep polluting until 2070, unleashing 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution.
Research released by ACF in 2024 shows lifetime emissions from the NW Shelf gas hub would be more than 13 times Australia's annual emissions from all sources.
Scientific modelling published in 2025 found that Woodside's total emissions have contributed to up to 49 heatwaves between 2000 and 2023.
"By continuing to support new fossil gas extraction, the Albanese government is ignoring the science, and ignoring the needs of Australians who are increasingly exposed to sweltering heat, like the conditions we are facing this week," Annika Reynolds said.
"Every green light for climate-wrecking coal and gas is a green light for climate disaster. They come hand in hand and Australians deserve a summer that is safe and stable."
