Vets for Climate Action welcomed the opportunity to provide a submission into the inquiry of the Minerals Legislation Amendment (Offshore Drilling and Associated Infrastructure Prohibition) Bill 2023 (the Bill) which seeks to the ban on offshore oil and gas, and
associated structures in NSW waters. VfCA strongly supports such a ban because the risk and impacts to animals, both terrestrial and marine, is too great due to the continued expansion of the fossil fuel industry. 

We providing the following concerns about the environmental impacts of offshore drilling:

1. The resulting emissions from any new oil or gas projects would only fuel worsening climate impacts already affecting our marine animals and ecosystems.

2. The scientific evidence is clear: we must reduce emissions this decade to avoid irreversible tipping points that threaten our planet, oceans, and way of life.

3. Seismic surveying, required in the exploration phase of any new offshore oil and gas projects, has incredibly harmful impacts on marine animals and the marine environment.

4. Offshore oil and gas production introduces the risk of oil spills in our ocean that pollute our water, which harms human health and kills our precious marine life.

5. New offshore oil and gas will prevent the NSW Government from delivering a 50% cut in emissions by 2030, compared to 2005 and net zero by 2050.

You can read our submission here