Climate Change

We support the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global temperature rises to well below 2°C and its implicit goal of net zero by 2050 for developed countries.

We believe Woodside can help deliver both lower global emissions as well as jobs and economic prosperity. We are part of a better future.

Our aim is to be net zero in our direct emissions by 2050. We’re going to get there by limiting our direct emissions and building our offset business.

The world needs more and cleaner energy. Under the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Sustainable Development Scenario (consistent with temperature rises well below 2°C ), demand for natural gas in the Asian markets that Woodside supplies to is expected to increase by 70% to 2040.

We’re working to meet this demand through our Australian growth projects, Scarborough and Browse.

According to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, electricity generated from gas has on average half the greenhouse emissions of electricity generated from coal.

Specific to Browse and Scarborough, independent expert analysis shows gas from these projects can help reduce emissions globally, while improving air quality in customer nations. For every tonne of greenhouse gas these projects will emit in Australia between 2026 and 2040, about 4 tonnes in emissions are reduced globally. That’s the same as cancelling out Western Australia’s emissions for over seven years.

Natural gas is also a natural partner to renewables. It provides the necessary stability to keep the lights on and the fridge running, and is available at the scale that we need. 

Our Australian current operations and proposed projects are regulated by the Australian Government’s Safeguard Mechanism. This mechanism is designed to keep emissions within the limits set to ensure Australia meets its Paris Agreement commitments.

To reach our aim of net zero in our direct emissions by 2050, we’re challenging ourselves to do better in our current operations and in the design of our future projects.

We’re already getting started:

• We have set a target to improve energy efficiency by 5% against baseline between 2016-20, and we are operationalising a new 5% target for 2021-25.
  

• In a world-first, we installed a lithium-ion battery on our Goodwyn-A offshore platform in 2019, which will reduce greenhouse emissions by 7,000 tonnes CO₂-e per year.
  

• We have worked hard to improve our power generation at Karratha Gas Plant by reducing the number of generators we use - lowering emissions by an estimated 48,000 tonnes CO₂-e per year.
  

• To improve efficiency in power generation (the source of about 70% of our current emissions), we have introduced high-efficiency aero-derivative gas turbines, advanced air filters and waste heat recovery.
  

• In 2017, we signed up to the World Bank’s "Zero Routine Flaring by 2030" Initiative, and the Methane Guiding Principles to reduce methane emissions across the natural gas value chain. In 2019, we reduced flared gas by 14% on an operated basis. We also hosted the world’s first methane reduction masterclass, bringing together all elements of the natural gas value chain under the Guiding Principles.

We are continuing to support science and using it to inform our decisions. By partnering with the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility at Griffith University, we ensure our understanding of localised climate risk for the Burrup Peninsula remains current and considers impacts on both natural and cultural assets.

We have invested over A$100 million in biosequestration to date, one of the first companies in Australia to do so at scale and one of the largest private investors in carbon farming. At the end of 2019, our partnership with CO₂ Australia had offset 700,000 tonnes of CO₂ for Pluto LNG Train 1.

Our partnership with Greening Australia to plant about 3.6 million native trees will take our investment in offsets another step further.

We intend to offset equity reservoir CO₂ across our global portfolio from 2021. Combining offsetting with our 2021-25 energy efficiency target, we calculate that we will be able to lower our emissions by more than 15%.

Carbon offsets not only remove carbon from the atmosphere, they also offer co-benefits, such as improvements to air quality, employment opportunities in remote communities and additional habitats.

We are creating a better future by developing new energy businesses and low carbon solutions, including:

Hydrogen. By 2030 we expect to see large-scale hydrogen production around the world and we intend to be part of that. A hydrogen industry and a local market could generate significant opportunities for Australia. It could enable lower emissions both in Australia and internationally, deliver energy security, together with new employment and manufacturing opportunities.

LNG fuels. We are supplying LNG as a new and cleaner fuel for land-based use (e.g. remote power generation) and shipping. 

Research and development:

• We have jointly invested more than $40 million with Monash University in our Energy Partnership and are exploring technologies that use carbon dioxide at scale (bio-sequestration, methanation, reforming and mineralisation).

• In 2019, we joined Global CCS Institute, an international organisation developing collective knowledge and expertise. We are also a member of CO2CRC – Australia’s leading CCS research organisation supporting the long-term commercialisation of CCS.
  

• We are exploring new technologies and products to reduce emissions such as using feedstock for synthetic fuels and using renewables and gas-fired generation to power our onshore facilities.

• In May 2020 we signed up to the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative, led by ClimateWorks and ClimateKIC, which aims to accelerate informed action by Australian industry towards the achievement of net zero emissions in hard-to-abate sectors by 2050 while managing the transition to thrive in a decarbonised global economy.