Carbon Bombs World’s Newest World-Class Wave

Camping at Red Bluff in West Oz desert in 2000, staring into red sunset with a cold beer, a gnarled fisho wafted a giant spliff in a vaguely northwest direction, and said, “There’s waves out there that make this look like Bondi.”

He was prone to exaggeration, but underground rumors of the potential of the offshore reefs of north-western Australia circulated long before the millennium. The Abrolohos Islands, 60 kilometers west of Geraldton, had been surfed by lobster and cray fishermen for decades.  

However, a further 1,000 nautical miles north, about halfway between Broome and Timor, on the edge of the continental shelf, the atolls of Scott Reef were always rumored to have waves that blended the power of Gnaraloo with the perfection of Indo. One right-hander in particular was considered the Holy Grail. 

The good news is, we can confirm it exists. The bad news is that the wave, the reef, and the pristine environment are now under threat. The oil and gas conglomerate Woodside has a proposal to drill 57 gas wells just 3 km from Scott Reef. The Browse project includes a controversial and untested carbon capture and storage (CCS) proposal to bury greenhouse gases under the reef. 

However, for the first time under Australian law, the environment minister has to weigh up what a gas project would do to the climate before approving it. Given that the Browse plan would be the largest fossil fuel project in the southern hemisphere, set to emit more than 6 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2070, it's now a huge factor. While the plans were first proposed in 2018,  the public has until 21 July for submissions. We need your support by signing a petition to register your disapproval.

“Seeing perfect, offshore righthanders, and jumping into water that is 600 metres deep, and paddling up onto an atoll that is one metre deep,” is incredible,” said surfer and cinematographer Matt Loft in a campaign for Surfers For Climate called Wild Waves Forevver. Loft recently scored the right alone, in between working on a TV fishing show. He described how winter swells that run up from the Indian Ocean towards Indo hit the ancient volcanoes that have been chopped off at sea level. “There’s so much potential for epic waves. We can’t afford to lose these assets, not just for surfing, but for places of beauty.” 

“Wild places feed our spirit. The world’s coral reefs are in desperate trouble, and Scott Reef is like a sentinel,” said Tim Winton, author of Breathe, one of surfing’s best-ever novels. “If we lose Scott Reef, it’ll signal the end for all coral reefs. And when they cook and die, we’ll be left with a poorer, harsher world.”

The loss of some of surfing’s newest world-class waves is hopefully enough to get you to register your protest. However, there’s much more at play. This is one of the most spectacular and important coral reefs in Australia. It’s a haven for corals, fish, endangered whales, sea snakes and a nesting site for rare green turtles. It hosts a thousand species, from the tiniest coral polyps to giant migratory whales like the endangered pygmy blue whale. It rivals the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef for the diversity of ocean wildlife it supports. 

Groups that oppose the plan are aware of the significant revenue and jobs that such a project will bring in. Surfers For Climate, which is asking concerned folks to sign its petition, acknowledges that the industry has helped power the state, pay mortgages, and fund local wave missions. They support good, safe jobs, but think some places should stay off-limits, especially a reef this wild and untouched. It's also worth noting that, despite being among the three biggest LNG exporters in the world, Australia collects relatively little tax compared to other resource-rich nations such as Norway and Qatar. Public outrage peaked in 2024 when it was revealed that Australians pay more in tax on beer than the government collects from offshore gas exports. 

It’s another ocean battleground that surfers need to fight for. As Loft said, “We can’t let big oil and those big industries behind fossil fuels destroy ancient beautiful places for the short-term gain.” If you agree, sign the petition and let the government know.