NT Climate Plan Criticized for Prioritizing Gas Extraction

A new climate resilience plan released by the Northern Territory government has drawn fierce criticism from environment groups for prioritising the acceleration of gas extraction from the Beetaloo Basin.

The plan, released on Monday, is set out in a three-page document, which says the Northern Territory government is focused on "working with the Australian government on the national target of net zero by 2050".

It outlines five "strategic priorities", including delivering a "secure and reliable energy transition", attracting investment and promoting emissions reduction.

One of those priorities includes a a plan to accelerate the production of "low emissions energy, including from the Beetaloo Sub-basin", which the government says would "support long-term energy security for the Territory, Australia and our region and … deliver secure and reliable energy to Territorians at the lowest sustainable cost".

The Beetaloo Basin gas field, about 500 kilometres south-east of Darwin, is nearly half the size of Tasmania and contains enough gas to power Australia for an estimated 300 years.

The government's climate plan has been widely criticised by environment groups, including the Climate Council, which say it will increase rather than reduce emissions.

"You can't have a climate resilience plan where the number one thing that the Northern Territory plans to do is drill for more gas and make climate change worse," said Climate Council senior advisor Ben McLeod.

Northern Territory' Environment Minister Joshua Burgoyne was unavailable for an interview about the plan, but said in a statement provided to the ABC that it "focuses on reducing emissions over time".

"The Beetaloo gas supply is positioned as a low-emissions, tightly regulated gas development that will support Australia's energy transition by replacing higher emission fuels and backing up renewables," he said.

The resilience plan provides some insight into Mr Burgoyne's description of the Beetaloo's "low-emissions gas".

"Beetaloo gas is relatively low in emissions because it contains one to two per cent carbon dioxide, which is low compared to alternative Australian gas sources," the plan says.

However, that view has been criticised by Mr McLeod.

"There's no such thing as low-emissions gas. You can only get rid of a very small sliver of the emissions and then the rest of it you burn. You can't avoid that," he said.

National advocacy group the Climate and Health Alliance has also spoken out in opposition to the resilience plan, with chief executive Michelle Isles agreeing that it will raise emissions.

"It's going to impact the health of Territorians. If we care about securing the future of this place, then we can't be backing gas," she said.

"The gas industry is trying to convince us that it is the way forward, but we know that the methane produced through gas is more potent than other emissions sources and harms human health."

The Greens also slammed the plan, with the party's NT spokesperson Suki Dorras-Walker labelling it an "absolute joke".

"It's not even greenwashing, it's openly talking about accelerating one of the biggest gas projects the Territory has ever seen," she said.

Ms Dorras-Walker also said the plan failed to support those living in remote parts of the Territory.

"This has absolutely nothing in it for remote communities … some of whom [recently] experienced some of the worst flooding we've seen in our history, had to be evacuated from country and spend weeks in evacuation shelters.," she said.

NT emissions targets unclear

The Northern Territory and Western Australia are the only Australian jurisdictions without legislated emissions reduction targets, and the Climate Council said the NT is falling behind.

"Even Western Australia is doing more to build renewables in the grid and making more progress there," Mr McLeod said.

Mr Burgoyne did not directly respond to an ABC question about whether the NT's Country Liberal Party government still supported its 2024 election commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, following the federal Liberal Party's decision to abandon its climate goals last year.

"We acknowledge the Federal Government targets of net zero 2050," he said.