Carbon Capture: Historic Alliance

In an historic alliance, industry, union and environment organisations today called on the Federal Government to establish a National Carbon Capture and Storage Taskforce to combat climate change.

The new taskforce, proposed by the Australian Coal Association (ACA), the CFMEU, The Climate Institute (CI), and WWF, would be charged with developing and implementing a nationally coordinated plan to oversee rapid demonstration and commercialisation of 10,000 GWh of carbon capture and storage (CCS) electricity per year by 2020.

ACA Executive Director Mr. Ralph Hillman said: "The proposed CCS taskforce will play a vital role in ensuring that Australia is CO2 storage-ready before 2020."

"The black coal industry is now funding a number of demonstration projects through its billion dollar Coal21 Fund with the aim of deploying commercial scale low emission coal technology in the power sector by 2020."

CFMEU National President Mr. Tony Maher said: "Rapid demonstration of CCS in Australia is essential to securing employment prospects in regional Australia – jobs in coal mining and jobs in new high-tech CCS power plants."

"Mineworkers know that their industry and their jobs only have a future if coal use – and gas use - becomes a low emission industry here and overseas. And with coal being Australia’s largest export industry, we need to lead the way in the development of that technology."

The Climate Institute CEO Mr. John Connor said: "Australia has a choice - it can be a technology maker or a technology taker. Ensuring all new electricity load is met by clean energy sources will position Australia at the forefront of the global boom in these technologies – and cut the long term cost of reducing emissions."

"Australia's leadership in the development of CCS can also contribute to emissions reduction in emerging economies such as China and India."

WWF CEO Greg Bourne said: "Rapid deployment of low and zero emission technologies, including CCS, is needed if we are to avoid dangerous climate change."

"Unfortunately market forces and emissions trading alone will be insufficient to overcome barriers to commercial scale deployment of CCS."

"We need to build demonstration plants now if we expect commercialisation before 2020. The only way we can ensure this will happen is through a coordinated effort by Commonwealth and State Governments and by industry."