The report states “… there are substantial risks that natural gas could crowd out investments in renewable technology or delay the broader adoption of renewable energy technologies.”

These revelations come two months after Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt granted final approval for Woodside to extend the life of its North West Shelf gas project until 2070, but the report was received by the WA government in January.

The North West Shelf extension will result in over 4 billion tonnes of emissions, wiping out any emissions cuts by Australian governments many times over.

The report follows the leaking of a CSIRO report commissioned by Woodside which undermined similar claims, and a report by the US Department of Energy that found emissions from LNG could be greater than coal emissions in customer countries.

“The government for a long time now has been trying to make the ludicrous argument that if you extract and export more gas, which is a fossil fuel, it will be good for the climate and reduce emissions,” said Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of The Australia Institute.

“That’s not true,  because climate change is caused by fossil fuels and gas is one of the main fossil fuels.

“It is no surprise the report was kept secret. It cost taxpayers $400,000 and did not support the government’s claims.”