HYDRAULIC FRACTURING —
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
1256. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the Minister for Environment:
I refer to the government's
announcement yesterday that five million hectares of Western Australia will be
opened to the environmentally destructive practice of fracking.
(1) What is the
projected effect on Western Australia's greenhouse gas emissions as a result
of the fracking that will occur in WA?
(2) Given the
potential for dangerous greenhouse gas emissions as a result of fracking, could
the minister please outline what measures the government will take to mitigate
those emissions?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The inquiry found
that impacts on global climate as a consequence of greenhouse gas emissions
from fracking is directly dependent on the scale of the industry, which is yet
to be determined. The report estimates that per unit of production greenhouse
gas emissions from unconventional gas development will be marginally greater—approximately
10 per cent—than conventional gas development. This figure is
consistent with other peer-reviewed science on this issue. The report also
concludes that, even under the unlikely scenario in which all of Western Australia's
domestic gas was supplied by the unconventional gas industry, the total
increase in greenhouse gas emissions would be only 0.1 per cent of Australia's
total greenhouse gas emissions. I refer the honourable member to chapter 10 of
the independent scientific inquiry's report, which I tabled in this
place yesterday, and, in particular, table 10.1 on page 386 for further
information.
(2) In line with
the findings and recommendations of the independent scientific inquiry, the
McGowan government considers the avoidance, monitoring, regulation and
offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions as integral to allowing this industry to
operate. An implementation group has been tasked to determine the means by
which this can be achieved in a plan to be delivered in March 2019.