Carbon capture to save industry

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It is putting $2 billion of new funding into the development of industrial-scale carbon capture and storage projects to boost Australian technology, protect jobs and tackle climate change.

The new $2 billion will be invested over nine years in the Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships program.

Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said the money would support first-of-a-kind industrial-scale demonstration projects for carbon capture and storage in Australia.

The projects are expected to comprise the development of a carbon dioxide storage hub and support for a range of technologies to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations.

The Government says the CCS Flagships program will complement its recently launched Global CCS Institute.

It hopes that along with the existing $400 million National Low Emissions Coal Initiative and the Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, the CCS Institute and the Flagships program will ensure that Australia continues to be a world leader in the development of clean coal technology.

Coal is Australia’s largest export earner and a major employer.

A string of coal seats runs down the east cost from Queensland to southern Victoria. The coal industry has been a traditional bedrock of the ALP, with most mining areas Labor heartland.

Labor’s hopes in the 2004 federal election were dealt a heavy blow when the forestry division of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, split with the party over a perceived anti-logging stand.

Since then, party strategists have been at pains to prevent anything similar from the mining division of the union.

The Government hopes that the Flagship projects, along with its other carbon capture and storage initiatives, will guarantee a future for the coal industry and protect jobs. The Government says project funding for the CCS Flagship projects will be subject to a competitive process.

It hopes to use the funding to maximise the range of technologies that are tested.

The Government intends to contribute up to one-third of the cost of selected projects.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says carbon capture and storage will play an important role in the global fight against climate change.

The Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute will drive the dissemination of CCS technology and skills around the world. The Government says sharing the knowledge generated by the institute’s activities will be critical to enable broad deployment of carbon capture and storage by 2020.

The institute will help support the G8 target for 20 industrial scale CCS projects to be operating by 2020.

Its key activities also include establishing early project work and developing a commitment to support fully integrated large-scale carbon capture and storage projects globally.

Treasurer Wayne Swan says carbon capture is “central” to the Government’s “vision for the low-pollution economy of the future”.

The Government believes clean energy initiatives such as the CCS Flagships will help kick-start a range of critical low-emissions technologies in the marketplace.

It says it will work with the private sector to position the Australian economy for a low-carbon, high-skills future.