South32 a big winner as WA backs down on its plans to police greenhouse gas emissions
South32 had told the WA government that 1700 jobs were at risk if it proceeded with regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
South32 appears to have become the first big winner from the West Australian government’s decision to walk away from the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions not long after the miner declared 1700 jobs were at risk.
Perth-headquartered South32 on Friday welcomed moves by the state government to relax strict conditions proposed by its own environmental watchdog on plans to extend the life of the Worsley alumina refinery through more bauxite mining in jarrah forest.
WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby backed key aspects of an appeal by South32 after warnings from the company’s chief executive, Graham Kerr, that WA authorities had gone way beyond the carbon reduction targets required under federal policies in assessing the Worsley proposal.
Mr Kerr had threatened to make a hard call on the future of Worsley, which employs about 1700 workers, if WA refused to budge on emissions limits and forest protection measures.
On Friday, South32 welcomed Mr Whitby’s support for key amendments as a “positive outcome” and said it now expected final environmental approvals in WA before the end of December, with federal approval to follow early in 2025.
The South32 plan involves extending bauxite mining in jarrah forests to provide the feedstock needed for the Worsley refinery near the town of Collie, which is one of the sites nominated for a nuclear reactor under Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s energy policy.
Worsley is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in Australia and subject to the federal government’s Safeguard Mechanism emissions reduction policy for heavy industry.
WA moved in October to pass responsibility for policing greenhouse gas emissions from big projects to the federal government. Mr Whitby said the move was based on constitutional legal advice to the effect that state powers fell away under the federal regime.
Glencore and Woodside Energy have since urged other states to follow WA’s lead by reducing duplication in approvals and policing of emissions.
South32 wrote down the value of the Worsley project by almost $830m in August after WA’s Environmental Protection Authority put strict conditions on the Worsley proposal.
The EPA recommended the project be allowed to proceed if South32 were required to hit net-zero emissions by 2050 and develop a 12,000ha offset package to replace the Northern Jarrah Forest.
In its appeal, South32 said the original EPA ruling would create operating challenges and went beyond reasonable measures for managing environmental risks, based on scientific assessment and decades of operating experience.
Mr Kerr did not comment on Friday but in August blasted the EPA conditions, saying they cut the time frame for emissions reduction compared with the federal regime and threatened other resources projects in WA.
New York-listed Alcoa faces approvals hurdles as it seeks to expand bauxite mining in WA’s jarrah forests to feed its Pinjarra and Wagerup refineries in WA.
Alcoa moved to shut down its Kwinana refinery, which employed about 800 people, earlier this year after the ageing facility lost about $US130m before tax in 2023.
