⚖️ Court Sides with Woodside in Emissions Case — “Tick and Flick” or Legal Flexibility?

Woodside has won the first of three late-stage legal challenges to its $16.5bn Scarborough gas project, after a federal court ruled the regulator isn’t obliged to deeply investigate emission plans — even when details are thin.

🚫 DEA challenge dismissed

Doctors for the Environment (DEA) argued approvals were a “box-ticking exercise”, but the court said NOPSEMA acted within the law.

• Case: Judicial review of regulator’s decision on Scarborough LNG

• Regulator: NOPSEMA (safety & environment body for offshore oil/gas)

• DEA claim: Woodside’s emissions plan lacked detail, yet was approved

• Court finding: NOPSEMA is not legally required to demand Scope 3 emission precision

🌍 Emissions scale revealed

Scarborough is expected to pump out hundreds of megatons of CO₂ across its life. The court noted this but said its role was only to check legal process, not climate policy.

• 5-year plan: ~162 Mt CO₂-e

• Project life: ~778 Mt CO₂-e

• Share of carbon budget: 0.33% (for 1.5°C) / 0.07% (for 2°C) worst-case

🎙️ Voices on the verdict

The ruling sparked sharply divided reactions.

• DEA: Says NOPSEMA is acting like “six-minute medicine” doctors, just taking companies at their word.

• Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill: Welcomes decision, stressing Scarborough brings jobs, tax revenue, and LNG supply.

• O’Neill admission (April): Impossible to prove LNG displaces coal — sometimes it displaces renewables instead.

🏛️ What’s still in play

This win doesn’t end Woodside’s legal headaches — two further challenges remain.

• Case 1: Friends of Australian Rock Art vs. approvals for North West Shelf plant

• Case 2: Murujuga custodian Raele Cooper vs. minister Murray Watt

• Outlook: Court battles could drag Scarborough’s progress well into 2026

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