Australian environmental group sues Santos over clean energy claims

Environmental

26/08/2021 06:22

MELBOURNE, Aug 26 (Reuters) - An Australian environmental
group is suing the country's No.2 independent gas producer
Santos Ltd  STO.AX , alleging the company's statements about gas
being "clean" and having a clear pathway to net zero by 2040
were deceptive. 
    The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR)
filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court on Thursday, and says it is
the first case in the world to challenge the validity of a
company's net zero emissions target. 
    Companies around the world have set out ambitious targets to
be carbon neutral within the next 20 to 30 years, under pressure
from investors concerned about climate change.
    Santos has said it aims to get to net zero by 2040 with the
help of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects - including
plans to store carbon dioxide in depleted oil and gas fields -
and with soil carbon projects such as tree planting. 
    Santos declined to comment on the matter before the court,
but its spokesperson said the company stands by its statements.
    CCS, which is mainly used today for enhanced oil recovery
projects, is seen by green groups as untested and unnecessarily
prolonging the life of the fossil fuel industry.
    ACCR said its case is a world-first test case around the
viability of CCS and the environmental impacts of blue hydrogen,
or hydrogen produced using gas, with the carbon dioxide emitted
in the process captured and stored. 
    "Santos has perfected the art of greenwashing, and
shareholders continue to be misled by Santos' clean energy
claims," ACCR's director of climate and environment, Dan Gocher,
said in a statement. 
    ACCR is asking the court to declare that Santos has engaged
in misleading or deceptive conduct, prohibit the company from
doing so in the future, and require the company to correct
statements about the environmental impact of its operations.

 (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Tom Hogue)
 ((Sonali.Paul@thomsonreuters.com; +61 407 119 523;))