Santos has won a greenwashing lawsuit after Australia’s federal court dismissed allegations that the gas producer misled the public on its net zero plans.
The lawsuit was launched in 2021 by shareholder advocacy group Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), which alleged that Santos engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in its annual and climate change reports.
The Federal Court determined to dismiss the case and award costs to Santos.
The case against Santos related to certain aspects of its 2020 Annual Report, 2021 Climate Change Report and 2020 Investor Day presentation, including disclosure of its 2040 Net Zero Roadmap at that time.
The ACCR’s key allegations of misleading conduct were over three major areas: Santos’ claims that natural gas was a clean fuel, that it could produce ‘zero emissions hydrogen’ and that it had a ‘credible’ and ‘doable’ plan to achieve net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040.
This was the first court case in the world to challenge the veracity of a company’s ‘clean energy’ claims and its pathway to net zero.
Brynn O’Brien, Co-CEO of ACCR, said: “This was a landmark case that paved the way for others around the world to challenge corporate net zero claims in court.
“It has been a David versus Goliath battle and Goliath won this round. While the Court found that Santos’ conduct was insufficient to breach the law, the case has shone a powerful spotlight on how Santos’ plans were developed and used to secure market advantage.
“This court case was not about punishing climate ambition, it was about standing up for market integrity and ensuring that investors are given all the information necessary to confidently assess emissions targets and net zero plans.”
Santos said it is committed to accurate, transparent and compliant reporting. It has developed a climate transition action plan that continues to evolve and reflects the progression of technology and public policy over time.
“Santos said in 2020 that we would develop the Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage project, we said we would work with governments to get a CCS methodology and regulatory framework in place to support its development – and we did,” a Santos spokesperson said.
“Moomba CCS has been up and running since September 2024. It’s one of the largest and lowest cost CCS projects in the world with capacity to inject up to 1.7 million tonnes per year of CO2e for safe and permanent storage in the same geological reservoirs that held oil and gas in place for tens of millions of years.”