The long fight to save the Beetaloo basin from shale gas fracking took a big hit this week. The NT government approved opening up the basin to fracking, and we know that Tamboran, Empire Energy and Santos have plans to do just that. Tamboran says they can start very soon.
The approval comes in spite of the NT government’s failure to implement all the recommendations of the Pepper Inquiry, as they promised. They are ignoring the wishes of the Traditional Owners and a public warning from 100 scientists and other experts. The scientists said in their open letter: “Allowing large scale gas production in the Beetaloo Basin could add 89 million tonnes of emissions to our atmosphere annually, equivalent to four times the current emissions of the NT and 18% of Australian emissions.
What can we do?
One thing we can do right away is write to federal government ministers and federal MPs for the NT. Lock the Gate has set us up to do it.
Image: courtesy of Lock the Gate