Jun 22, 2026 – 5.00amA loophole in the Albanese government’s flagship climate policy has allowed one of Australia’s biggest LNG facilities to earn more than $90 million in carbon credits in the last two years even though it increased its total emissions over the same period.Shell’s Prelude offshore gas facility in Western Australia has received almost 2.5 million Safeguard Mechanism Credits (SMCs) since Labor overhauled Australia’s main carbon policy in 2022, while its overall emissions have shot up by 400,000 tonnes.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Giant gas project earns $90m in ‘free’ carbon offsets
A loophole in the Albanese government’s climate policy has allowed an LNG facility to earn more than $90 million in carbon credits despite increased emissions.
TL;DRAI
Shell's Prelude earned $90m in carbon credits while emissions rose 400k tonnes—a gap in Australia's 2022 carbon policy. Carbon-credits divorced from actual reductions expose ESG valuations to arbitrage: asset pricing fragile to regulatory framework shifts.
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