Australian Conservation Foundation
UNESCO Delays Murujuga Listing Over Emissions Issue
A new report by the body that advises the United Nations on World Heritage nominations has recommended Australia end acidic pollution on Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula, dispelling the myth that the gas industry and the ancient Murujuga rock art can co-exist.
The ‘conditions of integrity and authenticity’ of Murujuga are ‘vulnerable due to industrial emissions, considered the majorly adversely affecting factor for the petroglyphs’, ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites) determined in its report to UNESCO.
ICOMOS is the principal adviser to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on cultural heritage matters.
An agenda for UNESCO’s meeting in July shows the draft decision is set to be deferred and the nomination sent back to the Australian government to address the risks to World Heritage values, including ‘the total removal of degrading acidic emissions currently impacting upon the petroglyphs of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape.’
ICOMOS also specifically notes current regulatory frameworks to protect Murujuga are insufficient, including Australia’s primary nature law, the EPBC Act.
‘ICOMOS considers that legal systems such as the EPBC Act are not enough to ensure the sustainable protection of the cultural attributes located within the industrial areas in the absence of a buffer zone,’ the report says.
The ancient petroglyphs at Murujuga have been nominated for World Heritage listing but scientists have warned acid emissions from Woodside’s Burrup gas hub are deteriorating the rocks’ surface. One scientist has raised concerns about departmental interference.
The Australian Conservation Foundation’s climate campaigner Piper Rollins said:
“The peak expert international body on cultural heritage matters has clearly identified Woodside’s North West Shelf gas hub as the primary risk to the ancient rock art at Murujuga.
“UNESCO is essentially saying to the Albanese government: you can’t have your cake and eat it. You are going to have to choose between World Heritage or Woodside’s toxic gas extension. The two cannot coexist.
“Woodside’s facility is scheduled to shut down in a few years. That’s what should happen. It should not be extended,” she said.
ACF’s First Nation’s lead Josie Alec, a Traditional Owner at Murujuga, said:
“The UNESCO World Heritage nomination of the rock art is completely inconsistent with more years of acid pollution damaging the petroglyphs at Murujuga.
“Environment Minister Watt should do everything in his power to protect the rock art, not protect the gas industry.”
Analysis released by ACF in 2024 shows lifetime emissions from the Burrup gas hub would be more than 13 times Australia’s annual emissions from all sources.