Andrew Forrest has taken a shot at Woodside Energy and the oil and gas industry over its pursuit of new projects as Fortescue pivots its focus to green energy.
Andrew Forrest has taken a shot at Woodside Energy and the oil and gas industry over its pursuit of new projects as Fortescue pivots its focus to green energy.
The Fortescue executive chairman told shareholders at the annual general meeting in Perth that the oil and gas sector was working “really hard” to stop the green energy sector from growing.
He said the industry claims to be creating First Nations jobs but were not talking about their emissions that he claims were “driving up lethal humidity” in parts of the world and northern Australia.
Specifically, Mr Forrest pointed to Woodside's Scarborough liquefied natural gas project and its tipped emissions in comparison to the state and country.
Mr Forrest said the Scarborough project was tipped to emit 1.4 billion tonnes of carbon over its lifetime, however, the figure actually stands at 878 million tonnes, according to Woodside.
“The total Scope 1 and 3 emissions from the Scarborough development are estimated to be 878mt over the project life,” a Woodside spokesperson said.
“This data is in accepted regulatory approval documents.
“A significant volume of energy will be produced from the Scarborough resource. Used to generate electricity, Scarborough could power the homes in ten cities the size of Perth for thirty years, doing so with around half of the greenhouse gas emissions that would be produced if this electricity were to be generated by coal.”
Mr Forrest further commented that constraints to the pursuit of green energy sector were not around technology or finance but instead the “lack of character” in leaders.
The comments came after Fortescue pushed ‘go’ on two-mid scale hydrogen developments and a small trial project in WA but elected not to push ahead yet with its Gibson Island project in Queensland.
When pressed about his comments on Woodside after the meeting, Mr Forrest said he thought the state and country should be positioning towards green energy “really fast”.
He said some of the oil and gas projects would be locked in for 30 to 40 years, which was past the country’s net zero by 2050 target.
“The climate is accelerating, it’s not about jobs, it's not about employment, we can get more jobs and more employment out of going green than we'll ever get out of the fossil fuel sector,” he said.
“But it is about making the choice to save the planet or not.
“We've got to stop toying around here; we actually have to move.
“Just clinging to the old ways, which is clearly going to destroy us, is a really short-term vision.”
Mr Forrest rebutted the claim that people could perceive his comments as an attack on Australian jobs, saying the green sector could create even more jobs.
He said, “going green” was better for employment, had lower cost of energy, created a higher standard of living and “doesn’t destroy your children’s future”.
Meanwhile during the meeting, about 52 per cent of shareholders voted against the company’s one-off discretionary payments to former chief executive Elizabath Gaines and Ian Wells.
Namely, the $1.98 million bonus to Ms Gaines which was readily defended by Mr Forrest despite shareholders’ disfavor of the move.
The 52 per cent vote against the resolution constitutes as a first strike of the remuneration report.
“Yes, she was chief executive, and she was going to sail off into the sunset, like every other very successful chief executive does,” Mr Forrest told reporters.
“She's respected globally as a phenomenal leader, and I needed that talent back into the fold.
“I think we've got excellent value for money.”
Non-executive director and head of the remuneration committee Penny Bingham-Hall said she had received “strong feedback” regarding the remuneration report, especially in relation to the special one-off payments.
Shareholders also voted to re-elect Mr Forrest and Mr Barnaba in their positions, with votes passing 96.01 per cent and 95.99 per cent, respectively.
