Out on the remote, turquoise edge of Australia’s northwest waters lies Sandy Islet—a speck of coral sand at Scott Reef, and a quiet nesting haven for one of the planet’s most ancient mariners: the green turtle.
These turtles glide gracefully through the water, following the ancient migratory pattern traced through the ocean for thousands of years. These gentle creatures come to this remote spectacular reef to feed, rest and nest returning to the very beaches they were born. The coral rich lagoons provide a sanctuary, rich with food and shelter from predators. But the sandy islet’s ancient residents are at grave risk.
These genetically distinct turtles have been returning to this tiny two-hectare island for generations, burying their eggs in warm sand under moonlit skies. Two to three months later, the newly hatched green turtles make their way to the ocean. But now, that peaceful rhythm is under threat.
And the danger is coming from none other than Woodside’s massive Browse gas project, part of the company’s climate-wrecking Burrup Hub expansion.
What We’ve Found
Scott Reef’s green turtles aren’t just a local wonder—they’re a globally important breeding stock, part of a species that’s already struggling in the face of climate change and habitat loss. Every nesting beach matters.
Looking at Woodside’s Turtle Management Plan (TMP) for the Browse project— is deeply concerning.
Let’s start with the basics: the green turtle population at Sandy Islet is listed as vulnerable under Australian law. That means it’s supposed to get the highest level of protection. But the TMP doesn’t even meet the minimum standard set by the national Marine Turtle Recovery Plan.
Instead, it underestimates the risks, delays action until damage is done, and relies on outdated data and flawed assumptions.
How Woodsides dirty gas plans will hurt turtles
Subsidence and Silent Extinction
When Woodside is sucking out gas from under Scott Reef the threat is that it will cause the seabed around Scott Reef to slowly sink, submerging the turtle’s Sandy islet. Woodside has their own (over 20 years old) data on this and will not make it public.
Light Pollution
Turtles are very sensitive to light pollution caused by drilling and extracting gas. While adult nesting females experience some disturbance from lighting, hatchlings are especially vulnerable as they can become disoriented or mis-oriented by artificial light sources, potentially leading them away from the ocean and increasing their vulnerability to predation. Woodside’s plan to drill for gas at Scott Reef will introduce multiple sources of artificial light including fixed lights and vessel lighting.
The Risk of an Oil spill
A blowout at one of Woodside’s wells could see Scott Reef and Sandy Islet covered in oily pollution. Woodside has conceded that the impacts to Scott Reef from a major spill like this “would likely be severe and potentially irreversible”.
What’s at Stake
If Sandy Islet vanishes, or if hatchlings can’t survive, this population could collapse. And once that happens, there’s no going back.
Because this isn’t just about turtles. It’s about how far fossil fuel companies will go to push their projects forward, even when it puts vulnerable wildlife at risk.
What we need now
On this world turtle day, we need decision-makers—and the public—to see this for what it is: a reckless gamble with one of Australia’s most iconic marine species. The solutions are clear: collect real data, plan ahead, and follow the law.
Greenpeace will keep fighting for the turtles of Sandy Islet—and the countless other communities and ecosystems threatened by the Burrup Hub.
Stay tuned. The turtles can’t speak, but we can speak for them.
Shells in the Sand: The Silent Struggle of Scott Reef’s Green Turtles
Climate Change
Analysis: Constituency of Reform’s climate-sceptic Richard Tice gets £55m flood funding
The Lincolnshire constituency held by Richard Tice, the climate-sceptic deputy leader of the hard-right Reform party, has been pledged at least £55m in government funding for flood defences since 2024.
This investment in Boston and Skegness is the second-largest sum for a single constituency from a £1.4bn flood-defence fund for England, Carbon Brief analysis shows.
Flooding is becoming more likely and more extreme in the UK due to climate change.
Yet, for years, governments have failed to spend enough on flood defences to protect people, properties and infrastructure.
The £1.4bn fund is part of the current Labour government’s wider pledge to invest a “record” £7.9bn over a decade on protecting hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses from flooding.
As MP for one of England’s most flood-prone regions, Tice has called for more investment in flood defences, stating that “we cannot afford to ‘surrender the fens’ to the sea”.
He is also one of Reform’s most vocal opponents of climate action and what he calls “net stupid zero”. He denies the scientific consensus on climate change and has claimed, falsely and without evidence, that scientists are “lying”.
Flood defences
Last year, the government said it would invest £2.65bn on flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) schemes in England between April 2024 and March 2026.
This money was intended to protect 66,500 properties from flooding. It is part of a decade-long Labour government plan to spend more than £7.9bn on flood defences.
There has been a consistent shortfall in maintaining England’s flood defences, with the Environment Agency expecting to protect fewer properties by 2027 than it had initially planned.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has attributed this to rising costs, backlogs from previous governments and a lack of capacity. It also points to the strain from “more frequent and severe” weather events, such as storms in recent years that have been amplified by climate change.
However, the CCC also said last year that, if the 2024-26 spending programme is delivered, it would be “slightly closer to the track” of the Environment Agency targets out to 2027.
The government has released constituency-level data on which schemes in England it plans to fund, covering £1.4bn of the 2024-26 investment. The other half of the FCERM spending covers additional measures, from repairing existing defences to advising local authorities.
The map below shows the distribution of spending on FCERM schemes in England over the past two years, highlighting the constituency of Richard Tice.
By far the largest sum of money – £85.6m in total – has been committed to a tidal barrier and various other defences in the Somerset constituency of Bridgwater, the seat of Conservative MP Ashley Fox.
Over the first months of 2026, the south-west region has faced significant flooding and Fox has called for more support from the government, citing “climate patterns shifting and rainfall intensifying”.
He has also backed his party’s position that “the 2050 net-zero target is impossible” and called for more fossil-fuel extraction in the North Sea.
Tice’s east-coast constituency of Boston and Skegness, which is highly vulnerable to flooding from both rivers and the sea, is set to receive £55m. Among the supported projects are beach defences from Saltfleet to Gibraltar Point and upgrades to pumping stations.
Overall, Boston and Skegness has the second-largest portion of flood-defence funding, as the chart below shows. Constituencies with Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs occupied the other top positions.
Overall, despite Labour MPs occupying 347 out of England’s 543 constituencies – nearly two-thirds of the total – more than half of the flood-defence funding was distributed to constituencies with non-Labour MPs. This reflects the flood risk in coastal and rural areas that are not traditional Labour strongholds.
Reform funding
While Reform has just eight MPs, representing 1% of the population, its constituencies have been assigned 4% of the flood-defence funding for England.
Nearly all of this money was for Tice’s constituency, although party leader Nigel Farage’s coastal Clacton seat in Kent received £2m.
Reform UK is committed to “scrapping net-zero” and its leadership has expressed firmly climate-sceptic views.
Much has been made of the disconnect between the party’s climate policies and the threat climate change poses to its voters. Various analyses have shown the flood risk in Reform-dominated areas, particularly Lincolnshire.
Tice has rejected climate science, advocated for fossil-fuel production and criticised Environment Agency flood-defence activities. Yet, he has also called for more investment in flood defences, stating that “we cannot afford to ‘surrender the fens’ to the sea”.
This may reflect Tice’s broader approach to climate change. In a 2024 interview with LBC, he said:
“Where you’ve got concerns about sea level defences and sea level rise, guess what? A bit of steel, a bit of cement, some aggregate…and you build some concrete sea level defences. That’s how you deal with rising sea levels.”
While climate adaptation is viewed as vital in a warming world, there are limits on how much societies can adapt and adaptation costs will continue to increase as emissions rise.
The post Analysis: Constituency of Reform’s climate-sceptic Richard Tice gets £55m flood funding appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Analysis: Constituency of Reform’s climate-sceptic Richard Tice gets £55m flood funding
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Ritidian Point, at the northern tip of Guam, is home to an ancient limestone forest with panoramic vistas of warm Pacific waters. Stand here in early spring and you might just be lucky enough to witness a breaching humpback whale as they migrate past. But listen and you’ll be struck by the cacophony of the island’s live-fire testing range.
US Government Is Accelerating Coral Reef Collapse, Scientists Warn
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