World-first Australian Federal Court case over Santos’ ‘clean energy’ & net zero claims

On the same day that a judgement was handed down in Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Incorporated v Environment Protection Authority [2021] NSWLEC 92 (26 August 2021) ordering The Environment Protection Authority, in accordance with s 9(1)(a) of the Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991 (NSW), is to develop environmental quality objectives, guidelines and policies to ensure environment protection from climate change, news came of another legal challenge in which the Environmental Defenders Office is the the legal representative of the applicant.

Santos Ltd Cooper Basin facility
IMAGE: Environmental Defenders Office

Environmental Defenders Office, 26 August 2021:

The Environmental Defenders Office, acting on behalf of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), has filed a Federal Court case against gas giant Santos over its claims natural gas is “clean fuel” and that it has a credible pathway to net zero emissions by 2040.

ACCR will argue the claims – contained in the company’s 2020 Annual Report – constitute misleading or deceptive conduct under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Australian Consumer Law.

This is the first court case in the world to challenge the veracity of a company’s net zero emissions target, as well as the first in Australia raising the issue of climate greenwashing against the oil and gas industry.

It is also a landmark, world-first test case in relation to the viability of carbon capture and storage, and the environmental impacts of blue hydrogen, increasingly touted as a key element in gas companies’ pathways toward net zero emissions.

Santos’ claims – “Clean” gas & a “credible” net zero pathway

Santos Ltd is one of Australia’s largest gas companies, and the biggest domestic gas supplier in the country.

In Australia its major projects include oil and gas extraction off the coast of Western Australia, as well as in the vast Cooper and Eromanga Basins that span South Australia and Queensland.

Santos is also a major player in coal seam gas, developing vast areas of the Surat and Bowen Basins in Queensland and planning a major new CSG project around the northern NSW agricultural hub of Narrabri.

In 2019-20, Santos was responsible for approximately 7.74 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions from its direct operations, with the end-use of the natural gas it supplied emitting an additional 28.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Despite this, Santos describes itself as a “clean energy” provider in its 2020 Annual Report, stating that natural gas is a “clean fuel”.

It has also sought to assure investors and the public that it has a clear and credible pathway to achieve net zero emissions by 2040.

This pathway is heavily reliant on both carbon capture and storage (CCS)processes and the production of “blue hydrogen”.

However, ACCR alleges that Santos failed to disclose that it has firm plans to increase its greenhouse gas emissions by developing new or existing oil and gas project including the Barossa, Dorado and Narrabri LNG projects. ACCR also alleges that Santos failed to disclose that its net zero plans depend upon a range of undisclosed qualifications and assumptions about CCS.

In addition, although blue hydrogen is increasingly touted as a key element in gas companies’ pathways toward net zero emissions, scientists and even key gas industry figures have raised questions over its environmental impacts in comparison to other energy sources.

ACCR says that these issues call into question whether Santos had reasonable grounds to assert it has a “clear and credible” plan to reach net zero emissions by 2040.

On behalf of ACCR, we will argue that in making the above claims Santos potentially engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct under both the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Australian Consumer Law.

We are asking the court to grant an injunction requiring Santos to correct the record publicly on these statements, and prohibit Santos from engaging in similar misleading or deceptive conduct in the future.

The Impact of Greenwashing – Investors & Environment

This case is about holding gas companies like Santos to account for the claims they make about their product and future in a low-carbon world.

Our client, ACCR, is a shareholder advocacy organisation focused on how listed companies, industry associations, and investors are managing climate, labour, human rights and governance issues.

They are also investors in Santos, taking this action to ensure the company and others like it fulfil their legal responsibility to be transparent and open with shareholders like ACCR.

Companies have an obligation to be upfront and honest with investors – this is particularly important to investors who are trying to assess which companies will survive and thrive in a rapidly changing global energy economy.

Misleading information can have a dramatic effect on the market, on investors, and ultimately on the environment.

It can leave investors vulnerable to major losses. It can skew the market unfairly in favour of companies failing to adequately respond to the climate change, and unfairly away from companies that are acting responsibly.

In doing so, misleading information about natural gas and the transition towards a lower carbon economy can obstruct an effective and timely response to the climate crisis.

A genuine transition to a low-carbon energy economy is crucial if Australia is serious about meeting its commitments under the Paris Agreement and ensuring the world avoids the worst impacts of climate change.

It’s essential that energy companies play their part and are upfront and honest about their role in this crisis and the challenges they face in adapting to a low-carbon economy.

This landmark case will help to ensure energy companies like Santos are held to account for the statements they make to investors and the public in the face of the global challenge of climate change. 

IMAGE: Santos 2021 Sustainability Report

Santos Ltd is one of Australia’s largest gas companies and is reportedly the biggest domestic gas supplier in the country. This court case is challenging the veracity of a company’s net zero emissions target, the viability of carbon capture and storage, and the environmental impacts of blue hydrogen.

Santos is also a major player in coal seam gas, developing vast areas of the Surat and Bowen Basins in Queensland and planning a major new CSG project around the northern NSW agricultural hub of Narrabri.

The Motley Fool blog stated on 26 August 2021 that; The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price slumped today after news broke that the company is facing a lawsuit. At market close, Santos shares are down 2.27% to $6.02. It is worth noting that this means the company’s share price is now at a new low for the 2021 calendar year.

End of trading on Friday 27 August 2021 its share price fell again to $5.57.

Country Womens Association at Tabulam providing better facilities to serve the local community in times of disaster

 

From the Office of NSW Labor MLA for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, media release, 22 July 2021:

How a shower makes a huge difference to a community

BETTER FACILITIES: CWA Tabulam President Vicki Stebbins briefs Janelle Saffin MP and Ben Franklin MLC on the new amenities at their rooms.

STATE Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin has praised CWA Tabulam for their efforts in providing better facilities to serve the local community in times of disaster.

Last Saturday (17 July), Ms Saffin and Ben Franklin MLC inspected the new CWA shower facilities in Tabulam funded under the NSW Government’s 2019 Community Building Partnership Program.

Ms Saffin said the shower will make a big difference.

“The CWA told me that during the 2019 bushfires in Tabulam people would turn up to their rooms covered in ash, wanting somewhere to get cleaned up, but the CWA did not have shower facilities,” Ms Saffin said.

“That crisis prompted the CWA to apply for this grant.

“It is so good to be able to inspect these new facilities that have been built under the Community Building Partnership Program.

“I acknowledge the support of Premier Gladys Berejiklian in ensuring the entire cost of the facilities was covered by the funding.

“The small CWA Tabulam branch plays a big role in the community, including providing an evacuation centre during disasters such as fires and floods,” Ms Saffin said.

“I commend their work and also their initiative in applying for the NSW Government grant that will make a real difference to the support they can offer.”

Nationals Member of the Legislative Council Ben Franklin said it was wonderful to join Ms Saffin and the CWA to celebrate their new shower.

“The Black Summer Bushfires were absolutely shattering and I commend the CWA for their outstanding support to the community in their time of need,” Mr Franklin said.

“The new shower is a game-changer should we be faced with another disaster like in 2019 and it cannot be underestimated the level of comfort and support this new facility will provide when people need it most.

“The NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership is designed to provide funding for positive infrastructure projects and there can be no doubt that CWA Tabulam is an incredibly deserving recipient.”

State and territory disability ministers have shot down Morrison Government's controversial reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme

ABC News, 9 July 2021:

State and territory disability ministers have shot down controversial reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), in what advocates say is a huge win for the disability community.

For months, disability advocates have been warning against the changes, which would have forced all NDIS participants and people wanting to access the scheme to undergo independent assessments.

The federal government announced its plan to introduce the functional assessments in August last year, and the NDIS has trialled the program.

But after a meeting between disability ministers today, NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds confirmed the federal government would not push ahead with the proposal.

"I can absolutely confirm that we agreed with the Independent Advisory Council's recommendation that the independent assessments in their current form will not proceed," she told the ABC.

"So are independent assessments as we currently understand them dead? Yes, they are."

Do you know more about this story? Email Specialist.Team@abc.net.au.

The move has been welcomed by disability advocates, who had argued the independent assessments plan was not fair.

"We are glad that the state and territory disability ministers have listened to the thousands of people with disability and their families who have contacted them this week to ask them to say no to the NDIS independent assessments," said El Gibbs, from campaign group Every Australian Counts.

"We have worked together for months to raise our voices and say that these changes were wrong."

'Back to the drawing board' for NDIS assessments

The independent assessments program would have involved an allied health professional, unknown to the person with disability, either meeting with the prospective participant face-to-face or holding a teleconference assessment.

That assessment would have determined someone's eligibility for an NDIS funding plan.

Currently, a person's usual doctors, specialists and allied health professionals provide reports to determine if someone is eligible for an NDIS plan.

The federal government had always maintained that independent assessments were an original part of the NDIS and would make it fair and equitable for everyone.

But many in the disability community said it was a box-ticking exercise designed to cut costs.

Opposition to independent assessments grew steadily last year within the sector, and in February more than 20 organisations, led by Every Australian Counts, called on the government to abandon the plan.

One of the architects of the NDIS had also criticised the independent assessments model…...

Clarence Valley community firm in its resistance to mining in the Clarence River catchment area - over 10,000 strong petition on its way to NSW Parliament today

Upper Clarence River catchment in flood, March 2021

It is in steep country such as this that Deputy Premier John Barilaro and the NSW Nationals want to establish mining ventures & associated unstable mining waste hillside tailing dams.

IMAGE: The Daily Telegraph

Clarence Catchment Alliance, media release, 5 May 2021:

The Clarence community and the Clarence Catchment Alliance's fight to stop mining in the water catchment gets a big leap forward on Friday the 7th May.

Standing beside the Clarence River, at the Lawrence Hall, at 3 PM this Friday, NSW Legislative Council Member the Hon Catherine Cusack will receive the Alliance's petition of well over 10,000 signatures against mining. She will subsequently present the petition to the NSW Legislative Council for debate in Parliament.

The petition calls for a to stop exploration and new mineral mining in the Clarence water catchment. Australian and international evidence proves that mineral mining besides waterways has a horrific track record. The chemicals used in the process as well as acidic tailings in high rainfall areas pollute waterways.

The Clarence Catchment provides drinking water for the Valley and neighbouring shires, as well as water for the agricultural, pastoral, fishing industries, and tourism. Our rivers and waterways are home to endangered species, unique ecology and are of high spiritual and cultural significance to local Traditional Owners.

Getting the 10,000 plus signatures has been a two year undertaking by volunteers of the Clarence Catchment Alliance, which is a non-political community organization, and their supporters.

In recent months, the Clarence Valley Council has passed two motions against mining, which gives parliament a precedent for action.

Last year, Ms Cusack crossed the floor in parliament in favour of the protection of koalas and their habitat.

The Clarence Catchment Alliance will present Ms Cusack with the petition on Friday with the Mayor and respected community leaders in attendance.

For more information please follow this link: https://linktr.ee/Nominesclarencevalley

Shae Fleming and Elizabeth Parker

Campaign Coordinators

Clarence Catchment Alliance

CLARENCE CATCHMENT ALLIANCE

PO Box 4089, Lawrence, NSW 2460

stopcangaimine@gmail.com

For more information on our campaign please visit

Web: https://linktr.ee/Nominesclarencevalley

Instagram: @nominesclarencevalley

Facebook: Clarence Catchment Alliance

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6sKa2GGFGjrXLigbUNJW1A

Soundcloud: CCA Clarence Valley

I acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live the Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr, and Yaegl nations.

~~~~~~~~~~ENDS~~~~~~~~~~

Grafton Nannas Against Gas and Greed joined a community campaign – Fund Our Future Not Gas – in the lead-up to May 2021 Federal Budget

 GRAFTON KNITTING NANNAS CAMPAIGN ON FUNDING OUR FUTURE - NOT GAS

Knitting Nannas setting up for the day in Grafton
Photographs supplied

The Grafton Nannas Against Gas and Greed joined a community campaign – Fund Our Future Not Gas – in the lead-up to May’s Federal Budget. Those participating in this campaign include Nannas from around the state, 350.org and GetUp. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the folly of the federal government’s gas led recovery and highlight where budget money should go to improve the lot of all Australians – not just the polluting fossil fuel companies which the Government plans to shower with largesse.

At the Grafton knit-in outside MP Kevin Hogan’s Prince Street office on Thursday April 22, interested passers-by were asked what they thought should be in the budget. Among the suggestions were improved funding for aged care, hospitals and health, education, the NDIS, homelessness, public housing, first home buyers, Closing the Gap, environmental protection, the ABC, and the CSIRO. As well there were calls for electric car subsidies, more renewable energy, and effective climate action. Another suggestion was not to give more money to the already rich.

Some suggestions were less about budget expenditure but highlighting the concerns many people have about politicians’ ethics and their accountability as well as the health of our democracy. These included calls for honesty, stopping lying, banning big business lobbyists, stopping the press monopoly, and stopping secret deals.

Also there were calls to stop relying on poorly paid workers from overseas (and get rid of 457 Visas) as well as for women’s rights that were real, not token, and the establishment of a Federal ICAC.

Some of those who chatted with the Nannas did not want to add anything to the list but expressed support for what had been listed while others approved of what the Nannas were doing to draw attention to the need for fairness in the budget and applauded the Nannas for getting out and campaigning.

In the follow-up to their knit-in the Nannas will be writing to Kevin Hogan about these suggestions and other general comments they received. The Grafton Nannas believe it would be in Mr Hogan’s interest to listen to what his constituents say about ditching the gas folly and ensuring public money works for his community. He should know that after our local Metgasco experience there is unlikely to be much support here for a gas led recovery, particularly amongst the increasing number of people who want fossil fuels phased out in order to cut our carbon emissions drastically.

- Leonie Blain

On behalf of the Grafton Knitting Nannas Against Gas and Greed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to 

ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration. Longer posts will be considered on topical subjects.

U.S. Netflix Inc's reputation about to go down the drain in NE New South Wales because of a cheap and nasty docu-soap?

 

Netflix Inc. is a multinational entertainment content platform and production company headquartered in Los Gatos, California, with annual revenue in 2020 of US$24.99 billion, has 81 per cent of its total employee pool resident in the United States and is listed on the stock exchange – although only est. 16 per cent of its shares are owned by the general public with the majority of shares apparently held by institutional investors.

It quietly boasts in its Annual Report 2020 that the global COVID-19 pandemic has increased its paid membership by 24 per cent and its annual income by $5.13 billion.

For some reason it has turned an exploitative eye on Byron Bay and many Indigenous traditional owners, local residents and businesses remain unimpressed…..

Byron Bay locals want Netflix show Byron Baes to be shut down.
IMAGE: The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 April 2021

ABC News, 18 April 2021:

Byron Bay in northern New South Wales is defying conventional wisdom that says film and TV productions should be welcomed with open arms for the money and exposure they bring.

A petition calling on business owners to refuse the use of their premises as a location has attracted thousands of signatures.

Netflix declined to be interviewed, but in a press release it said the show would be a "docu-soap following a feed of hot Instagrammers living their best lives, being their best selves, creating the best drama content, #nofilter guaranteed".

A 'Truman Show' portrayal

Mayor Simon Richardson said the show was "offensive" to the community.

"We've almost got a Truman Show-type portrayal of who we are where everything is quite idyllic and superficial, where out the back it's an empty parking lot," Cr Richardson said.

"We've got a community that is in real stress, we've got a community that has real life issues dealing with housing, work, affordability.

"While we are here trying to deal with this as best we can, to have this pamphlet of an idea of who we are without any input by us.

"It's quite offensive."

Cr Richardson called on the producers to make the series in another town that would welcome the exposure or, if they were determined to stay in Byron, to engage with the people and the stories in the town in a more meaningful way.

He said the council's hands were tied, however, when it came to stopping the production from happening……

'Byron deserves better'

Cafe owner Ben Gordon was one among a list of businesses – including fashion behemoth Spell and boutique hotel Rae's – that said no to Netflix when location scouts came knocking.

Mr Gordon said Netflix did not offer a location fee, just the chance of greater exposure and marketing opportunities.

"All the business owners need to realise is it's not good for your business," he said.

"They will tout that it's going to be seen by millions of people and that it's free marketing but it's not good marketing and you don't want to be involved with that."

Mr Gordon said, although he benefited from people posting shots of his cafe on social media, the Netflix production "crossed the line".

"This is a show that is targeted to 790 million Netflix subscribers in America about people who aren't actually from Byron," he said.

"Anyone from Byron who represents Byron in an authentic way wouldn't be involved in this show.

"It's really low and Byron deserves better."

A perspective on Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's inability to comprehend that all women have a right to equality and respect

 

ABC News, 16 March 2021:

The early signs of an earthquake can often be easy to miss.

Above the ground, the initial tremors can seem innocuous. But deep below, the tectonic shifting of plates can set in motion a series of events that rip apart the earth and bring down all that stands above it.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison could be forgiven for missing the early signs of the quake that would destabilise his government and upend the nation's political landscape.

When those early tremors started, Morrison was riding high. The nation was bouncing back from an economic recession and the man who'd won an unlikely victory years earlier appeared on track for re-election.

His focus was solely on a successful vaccine rollout, which he hoped would bolster the public's confidence in his government.

Weeks later, he'd find himself inside the House of Representatives, all but praising the nation for not shooting the protesters that had gathered outside.

"This is a vibrant liberal democracy," he offered.

"Not far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets, but not here in this country."

Scott Morrison is a man under pressure.

He has two Cabinet ministers, representing a quarter of the government's national security committee, on medical leave.

His government is facing allegations of a toxic culture towards women, particularly young female staffers.

Morrison played an unlikely role in the catalyst that would shake the foundations of the nation's Parliament.

He beamed as he stood alongside Grace Tame as she held her Australian of the Year trophy — an all-but-typical sight for a Prime Minister each January.

It was this sight that gave former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins the confidence to come forward only weeks later, and make public an allegation that she had been raped in a ministerial office, mere metres from the Prime Minister's office within Parliament House.

As she stepped forward into the light, so too came other women across the nation, each unearthing a growing list of allegations that ranged from bullying to sexual assault.

It derailed the government's planned focus on vaccines and forced the Coalition onto the back foot. The days of solely focussing on the pandemic are ending and with that comes greater scrutiny of the government on multiple fronts.

The Prime Minister knows all too well the power of marketing and imagery.

He projects the image of a daggy dad, the Sharks-loving, cap-wearing suburban everyman who builds chicken coops for his daughters.

So you only had to see the shirt he was wearing — the national netball team's — when he got his first COVID-19 vaccine to realise how aware he was about the reputational damage being inflicted on his government because of its culture towards women.

That culture has been a scourge on Parliament House long before Scott Morrison became Prime Minister.

But as the leader of the government it's his task to handle.

He's faced blowback for saying he had to talk to his wife to realise he had to respond to Brittany Higgins's allegations as if they were coming from his own daughters.

He's also faced criticism for referring to Ms Higgins as "Brittany", rather than Ms Higgins.

The same way he referred to Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan, a professor, as "chief nurse Alison", while Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly gets a "Professor Kelly".

Though each are small, the Prime Minister is facing questions about if they add up to something bigger.

"Not so much a tin ear as a wall of concrete," Labor leader Anthony Albanese offered in Parliament yesterday……

Former chief medical officer Brendan Murphy or the former NSW fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons were heavy favourites to be named Australian of the Year.

If either man had been awarded the honour, they'd have easily joined the ranks of the distinguished Australians to hold the position.

And if Murphy or Fitzimmons had been named Australian of the Year, it's unlikely the nation would still be talking about them more than a month later.

It's very possible it would've meant the Prime Minister would still be riding high, talking about the vaccine and an economy in recovery.

Grace Tame changed all that.

She has advanced a reckoning that has long hung over the nation's Parliament and its treatment of women.

It's grown into a story beyond Parliament House and forced the nation to confront how women in all walks of life are treated in Australia.

There is no quick fix that Morrison could announce to solve this problem.

To change a culture takes time.

But for the tens of thousands who rallied around the nation, they were looking for signs the nation's leaders were listening.

What they heard was a Prime Minister who said they should be thankful they weren't shot.

Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan again reminded of the Federal Government's "lack of effective action on climate change"

Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan has been in the Australian House of Representatives since the September 2013 general election and, as far as I can tell has never voted against the wishes of his masters in Canberra.

Which means that Mr. Hogan does not support genuine climate change mitigation measures.  

However, the Knitting Nannas Against Gas (KNAG) have never stopped reminding him that it is his duty to represent the people in his northern NSW electorate not a particular political party.

 

Knitting Nannas Against Gas

Grafton Loop

C/- PO Box 763

Grafton 2460

__________________________________________________________

4th March 2021

---- COPY ----

Mr Kevin Hogan MP

Member for Page

63 Molesworth St

LISMORE 2480

Email: kevin.hogan.mp@aph.gov.au

Dear Mr Hogan

Grafton Nanna Concerns

The Grafton Nannas have written to you a number of times over the years expressing their concern about the Federal Government’s lack of effective action on climate change.

We are dismayed that your Government is still ignoring the scientific advice about the need for urgent action on reducing Australia’s carbon emissions.

Your Government is at odds with the States and Territories which are all committed to net zero emissions by 2050 - irrespective of the party in government. Furthermore these governments are all taking action to ensure that they achieve this important goal.

Your Government is also at odds with many major companies in the private sector which understand that they need to make changes in their operations to survive – and prosper – in a carbon-constrained world.

It’s way past time that your Government stopped pandering to the fossil fuel lobby, dropped its ridiculous and damaging “gas-led recovery” and pursuit of futile pie in the sky nonsense such as carbon capture and storage and took its responsibility to the Australian people and future generations of Australians seriously.

We Nannas are particularly concerned for today’s young people who will inherit a world which is set to be irretrievably damaged by the selfishness and folly of you and your Coalition colleagues.

Do you, Mr Hogan, feel any personal responsibility for your Government’s failure to act effectively for our young people?

Yours sincerely

Leonie Blain

On behalf of the Grafton Nannas