A Federal Court challenge against Woodside's $16 billion Scarborough gas project has been dismissed after the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and the Perth-based gas giant reached an undisclosed agreement.
The two-year injunction argued carbon emissions created by the project, located in the Carnarvon Basin off north-west Australia, would harm the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, more than 3,400 kilometres away, by exacerbating climate change.
At the time, ACF's legal representation from the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) called on Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to restrain the project's development until its impact could be fully assessed.
The case argued the project would harm the Great Barrier Reef, which has already been impacted by coral bleaching. (Supplied: Geoff Roff)
Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill welcomed the agreement to dismiss the case.
"Litigation against energy projects like Scarborough is an ineffective way to pursue solutions to global climate and energy challenges," Ms O'Neill said in a statement.
"Such approaches create needless uncertainty for businesses, communities, and the people who depend on the energy these projects produce."
The ACF said it became clear late last week the case was unlikely to succeed.
"While the science is crystal clear that coal and gas warm our planet, the weak nature protection laws do not reflect this reality," the ACF said in a statement.
Opponents say law 'not fit for climate crisis'
When the ACF launched its case in June 2022, Woodside's controversial Scarborough project had already received key environmental approvals from state and federal governments.
It had done so under a streamlined process overseen by the offshore regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).
The ACF called on federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to halt the project. (ABC News: Luke Stephenson)
However, EDO lawyers argued the project's impact on the heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef instead required approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and, therefore, the environment minister.
The ACF said the project's "huge volumes of carbon pollution" would cause global temperatures to rise by nearly 0.0004 degrees Celsius, causing the deaths of millions of corals during future mass bleaching events at the internationally recognised landmark.
But the conservation group noted in an apology to supporters on Monday that approvals for fossil fuel projects need not consider potential damage caused by climate change according to the Act.
"As the law is not fit for the climate crisis that we are grappling with here and now, communities are often forced to stand up for nature by challenging the impacts of climate-wrecking mines in court," the ACF said.
"Litigation is expensive and risky, and communities often come up against opponents with far greater resources."
The dismissal follows the EDO's high-profile defeat in the Federal Court by Santos earlier this year while representing a group of Tiwi Island elders.
The case saw the group heavily criticised by Justice Natalie Charlesworth saying it had engaged in "a form of subtle witness coaching".
She also found there was an inference that instructions by traditional owners had been "distorted and manipulated" by EDO lawyers.
While a departmental review cleared the group of any breaches of its government funding arrangements, both the federal and West Australian oppositions have pledged to de-fund the EDO if elected.
Dr Lily O'Neill, a senior research fellow with Melbourne Climate Futures, said the case's withdrawal added to mounting scrutiny of NOPSEMA.
The offshore regulator's role in approving new gas projects has been at the centre of several disputes, both legal and political.
In December 2023, Woodside overcame another challenge in Federal Court after it was found NOPSEMA had acted beyond the law by giving seismic blasting for the Scarborough project a green light pending further consultation with traditional owners.
"This is having a huge knock on effect for the oil and gas industry," Dr O'Neill said.
"If I had my superannuation in an oil and gas project I would know I couldn't retire anytime soon."
Scarborough set to proceed
The case is the last of several legal challenges that threatened to disrupt the Scarborough project.
Woodside's Scarborough gas plant is expected to send its first shipload of liquefied natural gas to north Asia in 2026. (ABC News: Brendan Esposito)
The development works, more than two-thirds complete, include several offshore facilities connected by about 430 kilometres of underwater gas pipes to a significantly expanded liquefaction complex known as "Pluto" outside the WA resources hub Karratha.
It's expected to generate more than 3,000 jobs in the construction phase and almost 600 jobs on average during operation.
The project is set to begin producing and delivering gas in 2026.