AGL’s Hastings gas import terminal spells catastrophe for all Victorians

This Sunday, Environment Victoria will join local groups Save Westernport, Westernport & Peninsula Protection Council, the Blue Wedges Coalition and other state and national environment groups in opposing new polluting fossil fuel projects proposed for Westernport.

These two new projects are:

• AGL’s proposed floating gas import terminal, which will ship liquefied natural gas from around the globe to a floating storage and regasification unit at Crib Point;
• The Kawasaki coal-to-hydrogen pilot project to export hydrogen produced from Latrobe Valley brown coal to Japan out of Hastings.

A community protest against the two new fossil fuel projects proposed for Westernport will be held at the Fred Smith Reserve, Hastings Foreshore this Sunday 1st July at 1pm

Environment Victoria CEO Mark Wakeham said today:

“These dirty coal and gas proposals could increase Victoria’s climate pollution at the very moment when we should be doing everything we can to move away from fossil fuels.

“Incredibly AGL’s gas import project could end up importing gas that was originally extracted from Victoria, piped to QLD, refrigerated, liquefied and shipped back to Crib Point for regasification with every one of these steps increasing greenhouse pollution.

“This is a damaging and polluting project that must not proceed.

“Australia’s Energy Market Operator confirmed last week that there is no gas shortage. So there is no justification for AGL to barge ahead with this polluting new project.

“The project is also inconsistent with AGL’s public support for national and international action to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees.

“AGL recently wrote off hundreds of millions of dollars investment when they scrapped 2 new proposed new gas fields in NSW due to community opposition. They seem to have learnt nothing from these experiences and are now trying to develop a new polluting project which would industrialise Westernport – one of Victoria’s most important ecosystems.

“Continuing to invest in the polluting fossil fuel industry is a terrible decision at a time when we need to be investing more in rapidly transitioning to a renewable energy powered economy.

“This November, Environment Victoria will be calling on all sides of politics to put an end to dirty energy and dirty politics. Our politicians must recognise that Victorians want local, clean energy solutions that cut climate pollution and protect our natural environment.”

Environment Victoria is joining local community groups in urging AGL to abandon the project, and state and federal government decision-makers to reject it.