Climate Council Criticises Government Approval Of Queensland Gas Export Project That Runs Until 2081

The Climate Council has condemned the Albanese Government’s approval of a new gas export project in Queensland, arguing the decision exposes Australian households to further energy price volatility and undermines the country’s emissions reduction targets.

The APLNG project approval permits the operation of 1,695 gas wells for up to 30 years, extending well past Australia’s 2050 net zero target. The Climate Council noted the project is approved to run until 2081 – more than three decades after Australia plans to complete its transition to clean energy.

The approval brings the total number of coal, oil and gas projects approved under the Albanese Government since 2022 to 36.

Domestic Price Exposure A Central Concern

Climate Councillor Greg Bourne framed the decision as a direct threat to household energy costs, linking Australia’s gas export arrangements to the price volatility driven by international conflicts.

“Digging up and exporting more gas directly exposes Australians to price hikes driven by global conflict, as we’re seeing play out right now,” Bourne commented. “Since fossil fuel corporations began exporting gas from the east coast of Australia, domestic gas prices have surged, leaving Aussies to foot increasingly high power bills.”

Bourne argued the government should instead limit non-contracted gas exports and prioritise domestic energy supply.

“Rather than approving new gas export projects that enrich corporations, the Government can better protect Australians against price rises by limiting non-contracted gas exports and taking decisive steps to ensure Australia puts our own energy needs first,” he added.

The Climate Council noted that Australia already produces more than enough gas to meet domestic demand without new supply, with the majority of gas from projects like APLNG destined for export markets.

Emissions Figures Dwarf Domestic Transport Sector

The Climate Council’s analysis of the project’s emissions profile puts the scale of the approval into context.

Extracting the gas is expected to generate up to nine million tonnes of domestic climate pollution, a figure the organisation compared to the annual emissions from every domestic flight in Australia. When the exported gas is burned at its destination, the total rises to more than 110 million tonnes of emissions – more than the combined annual output of every car, ute, truck, train, bus and domestic flight in Australia.

The figures underline the gap between the government’s stated emissions reduction commitments and the cumulative impact of continuing to approve new fossil fuel extraction projects.

Climate Council Welcomes Gas Export Tax Discussion

The organisation welcomed reports that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is considering proposals for a tax on gas exports, describing it as a step toward ensuring multinational gas corporations pay a fair share for public resources.

The Climate Council argued that any export tax should form part of a broader strategy to secure Australia’s energy independence by accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels entirely, rather than functioning as a standalone revenue measure.

Bourne pointed to renewables as the path to insulating Australian consumers from global energy market disruptions.

“True energy security comes from power sources that no foreign conflict can disrupt – abundant clean power like solar and wind, backed by storage like big batteries,” Bourne explained. “Sunshine isn’t prone to price spikes, and wind power can’t be withheld. We should be accelerating renewable energy and storage so we’re more resilient to external shocks.”

36 Fossil Fuel Approvals Since 2022

Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, was blunt in her assessment of the government’s track record on new fossil fuel project approvals.

“The Government says it is committed to cutting climate pollution, but approving new coal and gas projects is like lighting another cigarette while you’re trying to quit smoking. You cannot cut climate pollution if you keep approving more projects,” McKenzie remarked.

McKenzie questioned the logic of approving a project with a 2081 expiry date against a national target of completing the clean energy transition well before that point.

“The climate maths doesn’t stack up. This project is approved until 2081 – more than three decades past the point where Australia is supposed to have finished the switch to clean energy. You cannot reach a balanced carbon budget by approving new long-lived gas fields,” she continued.

McKenzie also drew a connection between new approvals and the climate impacts already being felt by Australian communities.

“This is the Government’s 36th coal, oil and gas approval since 2022. After a summer marked by record heat and destructive flooding, communities are already living with the consequences of climate pollution. Approving new sources of pollution only increases the harm,” she added.

A Policy Tension That Shows No Sign Of Resolving

The approval highlights an ongoing tension in Australian energy policy between the economic returns generated by fossil fuel exports and the government’s commitments under its climate targets.

The Climate Council’s position is that the two are incompatible at scale, and that each new approval makes the emissions arithmetic harder to reconcile with a credible pathway to net zero by 2050.

The government has not yet responded publicly to the Climate Council’s criticism of the APLNG approval.

Further information is available at climatecouncil.org.au.

Comment And Analysis

Nick Ross, (BSc Geology Hons, UCL) and Editor in Chief of SMBtech says: The science is clear, the climate is collapsing around us. It might not be on a timescale that lay people can fathom, but it is. Anyone promoting and profiting from fossil fuels in this day and age is committing crimes against humanity. Few people can fathom that now, but the science is clear. History will judge them harshly.

Last Updated on March 20, 2026 by Nick Ross