Stand with the Great Barrier Reef, Scott Reef and our Common Home

For the first time in eight years, the Australian Government has opened a public consultation on Woodside's proposed Browse Gas Project.

This is a rare opportunity for Australians to speak up.

Can you help by filling out the form below?

The Environment Minister is reconsidering whether the project's climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef should be assessed under Australia's national environment laws.

New scientific evidence shows that the climate pollution from the Browse Gas Project could contribute to the loss of nearly 30 million additional coral colonies during every future mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef.

The project also threatens the extraordinary Scott Reef ecosystem in Western Australia, including endangered species such as Pygmy Blue Whales, Green Turtles and many other species.

As people of faith, we may express our beliefs in different ways, but many of us share a commitment to care for our Common Home and to act for the sake of all beings.

The fossil fuels extracted from projects like Browse are burned overseas, but the climate pollution they create returns to affect us all—contributing to the warming of our planet, the bleaching of our reefs and increasing harm to communities, especially those already most vulnerable.

Our faith traditions call us to respond with compassion and responsibility when we become aware of harm. This new scientific evidence gives us an opportunity to do exactly that.

This consultation is an opportunity for people of faith across Australia to add our voices to those calling for these climate impacts to be properly assessed.

Add your name

ARRCC is partnering with the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) to encourage people of faith to support a submission calling on the Environment Minister to ensure that the Browse Gas Project is fully assessed for its climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef and other nationally significant ecosystems.

By completing the form below, you will be supporting the submission that ACF has written.

The Minister's office has in fact said that every name added counts as its own submission. 

Thousands are needed. Your voice helps a lot.

We're also asking a few additional questions so that we can better understand and celebrate the breadth of support coming from faith communities across Australia.

Why ARRCC is supporting this

Caring for our Common Home and acting for the sake of all beings are values that resonate across many faith traditions.

While our beliefs and practices differ, many of us share a commitment to protect the Earth, stand alongside those most affected by climate change and help build a flourishing future for all beings.

The Browse Gas Project raises profound moral as well as environmental questions.

As people of faith, we believe these questions deserve to be heard.

Together, our voices can help demonstrate that concern for the Great Barrier Reef, Scott Reef and our shared future is not confined to any one section of the Australian community. It is shared by people of faith across Australia.

Please add your name by Tuesday 21 July

Public consultation closes on Tuesday 21 July.

If you believe the climate impacts of the Browse Gas Project should be properly considered under Australia's environmental laws, please add your name today.

Together, we can help ensure that the voices of Australia's faith communities are heard.

What adding your name will mean

By adding your name, you will be making a submission that will echo one drafted by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) calling on the Environment Minister to ensure that the climate impacts of Woodside's Browse Gas Project are properly assessed under Australia's national environment laws.

Your submission will argue that:

• The climate impacts of the Browse Gas Project should be considered as part of the federal environmental assessment.
  
  
• New scientific evidence prepared by ACF shows that the project's 1.6 billion tonnes of climate pollution could have devastating consequences for the Great Barrier Reef, including the loss of nearly 30 million additional coral colonies during every future mass bleaching event.
  
  
• This new evidence shows that future bleaching events are likely to occur more frequently, with less time for the Reef to recover between them.
  
  
• The original assessment of the Browse Gas Project should therefore be reconsidered to include these climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef.
  
  
• The project also poses significant risks to Scott Reef in Western Australia, including threatened marine species such as Green Turtles and Pygmy Blue Whales, as well as the risk of catastrophic oil spills and damage caused by gas extraction.
  
  
• Although the gas would be exported overseas, the climate pollution from burning it contributes to global warming that damages Australia's own reefs and ecosystems.
  
  
• The submission asks the Environment Minister to require that these climate impacts be fully considered when assessing the Browse Gas Project.

Privacy

The information you provide will be shared with the Australian Conservation Foundation for the purpose of including your support in the submission to the Australian Government.

ARRCC will also retain your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can choose whether or not you would like to receive future updates from ARRCC.