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Conservation Council of Western Australia v. Hatton and Woodside - judgment

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On December 21, 2020, the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA) filed suit against the former chairman of the Western Australia EPA and the natural gas company Woodside, alleging that the EPA had allowed Woodside to process unlimited amounts of gas at two plants, in violation of the state's Environmental Protection Act. According to news reports, CCWA alleges that the state EPA had previously only allowed the plants to process gas from particular sources. Then, in July 2019, EPA made two decisions allowing the plants to process gas from any source, made under provisions of the Environmental Protection Act that allows minor changes to previous approvals without significant assessment. CCWA alleges that the environmental and climate impacts were major and should have triggered the full consideration of the EPA. According to news reports, Woodside is partnering with Shell, BP, Chevron, and BHP to extract, transport, and process the gas as part of the Burrup Hub project. 


At a three day hearing commencing on December 20, 2021, CCWA told the court that the former chairman of the Western Australia EPA (Hatton) had to “engage in his own intellectual process” when approving recommendations by the EPA to allow the plants to process gas from any source. The Court rejected this argument, saying that CCWA had not established the chair did not consider the possible environmental and climate impacts and had not proved the chair made an error.


Conservation Council of Western Australia v. Hatton and Woodside

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Conservation Council of Western Australia v. Hatton and Woodside - judgment

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