Dirty and Dark – political donations from the fossil fuel industry

From the Market Forces report:

The Australian Government continues to support fossil fuel exploration and development in Australia, despite 2021 modelling by the International Energy Agency (IEA), confirmed again in late 2022, which finds that there can be no new coal, oil or gas projects if the world is to achieve zero net emissions by 2050 and limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Six new coal mining projects were approved between the release of the IEA’s report and the ousting of the former Liberal-National government, while the new Labor government has granted 10 new oil and gas exploration licences since. There are also 118 coal, oil and gas projects currently in the investment pipeline nationally according to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. The Labor government is actively supporting these developments even while its own Climate Change Bill enshrines in law a 43% reduction in Australia’s emissions by 2030.

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Hefty donations from the fossil fuel industry

In FY2022 [1], fossil fuel companies donated $2 million to the ALP, Liberal and National parties.

Yet given Australia’s reputation for woefully inadequate political disclosure and ‘dark money’ donations, with 35% of all contributions coming from unknown sources, the true figure could be significantly higher.

Leading the pack with $188,000 worth of largesse was Mineral Resources, followed by INPEX with $157,300 and Santos with $153,660. Fossil fuel lobby groups like the Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) also donated nearly half a million dollars, with a combined total of $441,482.

Market Forces collates this data from the Australian Electoral Commission.
You will find the full list of fossil fuel donors from the last financial year at https://www.marketforces.org.au/politicaldonations2023/