A new LNG plant off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia will expose half a million people to unprecedented extreme heat and result in hundreds of additional deaths.
That's according to new research released overnight from leading climate scientists, who say they can now directly link harmful impacts to new investments in coal and gas extraction.
The $16 billion Scarborough Gas Project is expected to produce eight million tonnes of LNG annually from the second half of next year, which operator Woodside says will have a "negligible" climate impact.
- Guest: Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, The Australian National University (ANU) School of Environment and Society
- Producer: Jason Whittaker
In a statement, Woodside told ABC Radio National Breakfast that climate change "cannot be attributed to any one event, country, industry or activity".
According to Woodside, Scarborough "contains less than 0.1 per cent carbon dioxide" and "the project is expected to be one of the lowest carbon intensity sources of LNG delivered into north Asian markets".