The federal government should commission its own report to verify claims that coal seam gas is clean energy, a green group says.
The Australian petroleum industry has commissioned a report that claims coal seam gas is a low emissions power source.
"But what kind of confidence can we have in those claims?" Nature Conservation Council of NSW CEO Pepe Clarke asked on Friday.
"A lot of the data from the report comes from environmental impact statements from the industry itself, hardly an authoritative source of impartial information.
"The federal government must not rely on a self-serving report prepared for the gas industry by a consulting company with deep ties to the petrochemical industry."
The report, by global engineering consultancy WorleyParsons, found the carbon footprint of generating power from gas is up to 87 per cent smaller than that from coal.
The findings have provoked charges of hypocrisy against the Greens for opposing coal seam gas exploration and production.
But Mr Clarke said WorleyParsons has strong ties to the Australian gas industry and is directly involved in the construction of gas powered power plants worldwide.
"An essential step in the right direction would be federal government leadership to commission an independent study of the lifecycle emissions of coal seam gas in this country," he said.
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