3 days ago
Woodside CEO cops vicious spray for exposing the ‘Temu' Gen Zers who export their carbon guilt abroad while preaching about the climate crisis
Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill sure raised some hackles this week when she took aim at the double standards of climate crusaders.
In her sights were those who bash fossil fuels while rushing to charge their smartphones so they can splurge on cheap goods from online Chinese retailers.
But the boss of Australia's biggest oil and gas producer wasn't sticking a Boomer-style boot into young Australians, despite the inevitable howls of protest.
This business leader simply had the audacity to voice an uncomfortable truth - it is time to face the energy hypocrisy woven into the fabric of our everyday lives.
Ms O'Neill was on a panel at the industry's annual conference in Brisbane on Tuesday when the moderator, Sky News Political contributor Chris Uhlmann, asked if people genuinely knew the source of their electricity.
Echoing the sentiment that 'most people hit a switch and expect the lights to come on', she then referenced the false fossil fuel virtue which exists, according to reports.
Ms Neill said: 'It's been a fascinating journey to watch the discussion, particularly among young people who have this very ideological, almost zealous view of, you know, 'fossil fuel bad, renewables good', that are happily plugging in their devices, ordering things from Shein and Temu, having, you know, one little thing shipped to their house without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions.
'So that human impact and the consumer's role in driving energy demand and emissions absolutely is a missing space in the conversation.'
Or in other words, exposing those who quietly export their carbon guilt abroad while proudly claiming to protect the planet.
Woodside and by association Ms O'Neill are the enemy to green evangelists because of the company's North West Shelf Project on the Burrup Peninsula in the remote Pilbara region.
It is the biggest gas plant on the mainland and the extension - now approved by newly appointed Environment Minister Murray Watt - will allow Woodside to keep operating and supplying gas to the Australian market until 2070.
Opponents claim the project will emit billions of tonnes of CO2 as we keep the lights on.
Consequently, the net zero brigade do not like Ms O'Neill's position on double standards one bit.
Grace Vegesana from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition didn't hold back, accusing Ms O'Neill of trying to dodge responsibility for climate change by pointing the finger at everyday Australians.
'Climate change is happening right in front of our eyes yet Meg O'Neill is trying to cast the blame back onto individuals. In case you've forgotten basic climate science Meg, yes, fossil fuels = bad,' Ms Vegesana said, going after what she called yet another attempt by big oil and gas to deflect blame.
Greenpeace's Joe Rafalowicz went even further, calling it 'laughable' that a fossil fuel executive would try to shift blame onto kids.
His view was that Ms O'Neill should start listening to students in flooded mid north New South Wales who just saw their schools shut down 'thanks to another climate-driven disaster'.
But this is not the essence of her view.
The issue Ms O'Neill is highlighting, I believe, is that any and every call for moderation or pragmatic transition in energy is framed as heresy.
We are now saddled with energy insecurity and skyrocketing costs, not in the least because of the news this week that from July 1 households in NSW, SA, and SE QLD face up to a $228 spike in their electricity bills.
This might be something to think about at the next climate rally when these critics are live-streaming their outrage on devices charged with fossil fuel-powered electricity.
But I don't blame Gen Z - they are encouraged to criticise the very industry that keeps this country running.
Meanwhile, the Coalition has rediscovered its spine by stepping back from its net zero by 2050 goal following the second honeymoon of the Liberal and National parties.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said Australia needs to do its part on climate change but not 'at any cost.'
Significantly, the former shadow finance minister Jane Hume who pushed to keep the net zero target didn't make it into the new shadow cabinet.
But if Gen Zs and the like desire a carbon-free future, are they honestly prepared to unplug their lives and work with major industry or is the goal simple - to yell at the companies that keep them connected?
The transition needs to be handled efficiently and until then so-called 'climate justice' means blackouts to the rest of us.
Louise Roberts is a journalist and editor who has worked as a TV and radio commentator in Australia, the UK and the US. Louise is a winner of the Peter Ruehl Award for Outstanding Columnist in the NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism and has been shortlisted in other awards for her opinion work.
