The Environmental Defenders Officers, acting on behalf of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), has filed a suit against Santos Ltd, Australia’s biggest domestic gas supplier, alleging the company misled investors in its 2020 Annual Report by labeling natural gas as a “clean fuel,” and stating it had a “clear and credible” plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.
The legal action is said to be the first in the world to question a company’s net-zero emissions target. Also, it is the first time the Australian oil and gas industry is being formally charged with “greenwashing.”
It is ACCR’s stand that natural gas is not a clean fuel as claimed by Santos because its production entails the release of significant emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane. In 2019-20, Santos was responsible for approximately 7.74 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions from its direct operations, the ACCR revealed.
Moreover, the company did not disclose that its greenhouse gas emissions would further increase after the development of new or existing oil and gas projects.
On its plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 (see image above), Santos has assumed credits for carbon capture and storage (CSS) and the use of blue hydrogen.
However, the ACCR charges that the company has depended upon “a range of undisclosed qualifications and assumptions about CCS,” and that the environmental benefit of blue hydrogen, in comparison to other sources, is still debatable.
It has labeled the company’s conduct as “misleading or deceptive,” and called for the court to require it to correct the record, and as well to prohibit it from similar behavior in the future.
Notably, ACCR is also an investor in Santos.
“I’d say there’s a fairly significant number of Santos shareholders that are convinced its actions are genuine. We don’t believe they are genuine,” Dan Gocher, ACCR’s Director of Climate and Environment, told The Guardian.
“They intend to produce oil and gas beyond 2040.”
Sources: The Guardian; Environmental Defenders Office
Feature Image Source: Santos