5 Things Australian Energy Producers Don’t Want You to Know

In spite of the enormous advertising budgets used by Australian Energy Producers and many of its members to make gas seem ‘clean’ and ‘natural,’ gas is a polluting fossil fuel. 

Coal, oil and gas account for over 75% of the global greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change. Gas is primarily made up of methane, which is even more polluting than carbon dioxide. When burned for energy, gas produces carbon dioxide.  In Australia, gas accounts for at least 21% of carbon dioxide emissions. But methane and carbon dioxide also leak out into the atmosphere at every stage of gas production and transport, and tracking technology shows that more dangerous greenhouse gasses are released than are officially measured. 

When the processing and transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are taken into account, there’s nothing “clean” about it: gas is a more polluting fossil fuel than coal. 

Say otherwise and it’s likely you’ll be held to account. Santos is currently being sued for allegedly misleading investors on several accounts, including for misrepresenting gas as ‘clean energy.’ Greenpeace Australia Pacific has filed a lawsuit against Woodside for allegedly misleading and/or deceiving the Australian public about the enormous climate harm of its gas and oil projects. 

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting was outed for misleading and deceptive claims in February 2025 by the Ad Standards regulator for an ad promoting “clean gas.” The ad was taken down. The fact is, there is no such thing as clean gas.

The International Energy Agency’s landmark Net Zero by 2050 report concluded that no new investment in oil, gas or coal is needed to reach net zero by 2050. Reaching net zero globally by 2050 is essential to limit global warming to 1.5C, in keeping with the Paris Agreement temperature goal – a legally binding international treaty on climate change which Australia is a Party to.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that existing fossil fuel projects could already push us past the 1.5C target. There is a large consensus across all published studies that new oil and gas projects are fundamentally incompatible with the Paris Agreement, confirmed by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

While Australian Energy Producers like to say “we don’t get to net zero without natural gas” - and use this as justification for further gas expansion, the reality is we won’t get to net zero with new gas. 

The good news is, we don’t need to - as around 80% of Australia’s gas is currently exported. The Australian Energy Market Operator has said recently that there has been a significant fall in demand for gas domestically. Electrification and high gas prices played a large role in decreasing consumption. And there is much more that can be done to reduce gas demand and power our homes and businesses with clean energy instead.

The industry and governments in Australia and East Asia, especially Japan, actively promote a narrative that Australian gas is needed to keep the ‘lights on in Tokyo’ and that Australian gas is aiding the energy transition in Asia.  In fact, gas use in Japan is decreasing, while new research from IEEFA shows Japan is on-selling more Australian LNG to other countries than Eastern Australia would consume in a year. This on-selling of Australian gas is extending gas based power infrastructure in South East Asia, while Japanese companies pocket enormous profits.

A CSIRO report, commissioned but then buried by Woodside because it didn’t like what it said, found that increasing Australian gas exports to Asia could actually displace the adoption of renewable energy and prolong the use of coal. This would lead to an increase in global emissions - as confirmed by a recent paper published by the US Energy Department. 

Our major importers of gas: Japan, Korea and China, have also committed to reaching net zero by 2050.

From the point of extraction to final use, gas causes harm to nature and people at every step. 

Take Woodside’s current proposal to extend the life of the North West Shelf processing facility to 2070, and fuel it with 50 gas wells at Scott Reef. Risks have been identified to critical habitats, including coral reefs and breeding grounds for endangered species, as well as to marine life through noise and light pollution. 

And where to start with fracking? Fracking is one of the most destructive ways to extract fossil fuels, involving injecting the earth with huge quantities of toxic water including dangerous chemicals that can contaminate surrounding water sources, agriculture and land. This can lead to cancer and respiratory problems.

In Australia, 12% of childhood asthma has been attributed to cooking with gas in the home. Just like Big Tobacco used to claim that smoking was safe, Big Gas does the same. The reality is a child living in a home with a gas stove faces a comparable asthma risk to a child living at home with smokers.

Australian Energy Producers can’t stop talking about how “boosting Australian gas supply will ease cost of living pressures,” however astroturfing group Australians for Natural Gas was recently referred to the ACCC for making that same claim. 

The truth is that while renewable energy is quickly getting cheaper, gas is becoming more expensive - driving up power prices in Australia. 

IEEFA has found that gas prices have tripled since Australia started exporting LNG in 2015, even while demand in the eastern states has declined.