The Minerals Council of Australia will host a Leadership Roundtable on the development of Low Emissions Technologies for Fossil Fuels.
The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) CEO Dr Richard Aldous said the industry-led group would fill a gap in Australia’s low emissions technology sector, and that a collaborative approach to meeting the challenges associated with fossil fuel emissions was essential.
“It is in Australia’s – and the world’s – best interests that we adopt a pragmatic and coordinated approach across the coal, oil and gas, and power generation industries, research bodies, government and peak bodies to further develop low emissions technologies, mitigate climate change and deliver global energy security without damaging individual economies,” Dr Aldous said.
“As one of the highest emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2) per capita in the developed world, Australia’s response to climate change must embrace and advance technologies that limit, or prevent, carbon emissions from fossil fuel use.”
Dr Aldous said that carbon capture and storage (CCS) was currently the only available method of making significant cuts to emissions from fossil fuel-powered energy generation and large industrial processes, but that further work was required to accelerate widespread deployment of the technology.
“I am delighted that, even during the current period of policy uncertainty and budgetary constraints, government and industry continue to support ongoing innovation, cooperation, knowledge sharing, debate and collaboration to further enhance low emissions technologies, including CCS,” he said.
“CO2CRC has demonstrated for more than 10 years that successful outcomes are born of effective cooperative arrangements between federal and state governments, Australian and international industry, and the global research community.
“We look forward to working with the Roundtable to build on Australia’s low emissions technology achievements, including through the application of valuable lessons learned from other Australian Flagship and demonstration CCS projects, such as CarbonNet and the CO2CRC Otway Project in Victoria, the Callide Oxyfuel Project in Queensland, and WA’s Gorgon Joint Venture and the South West Hub projects.”
CO2CRC’s new CCS research program (2015–20) will focus on improving the science associated with storage technology and developing new technologies to drive down the cost of capture.
A significant effort will go into the globally recognised CO2CRC Otway Project to progress sophisticated seismic monitoring techniques and to demonstrate that CO2 can be safely stored, monitored and stabilised in deep saline rock formations.
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