Media Releases
Response to the Announcement of the Low Emissions Technology Commercialisation Fund
10th November 2021
The Australian Federal Government has announced it will establish a $1 billion technology fund to develop low-emissions technologies. The fund will be administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and seek to attract half of the funding from the private sector, allowing the CEFC to invest in new areas including carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The Global CCS Institute’s General Manager – Commercial, Alex Zapantis, said CCS was one of the climate solutions essential to reaching net-zero by 2050.
“CCS is pivotal to our global response to climate change, is commercially available today and is well placed to strengthen our economy and support jobs. We need all climate mitigation solutions, across a broad range of industries – the announcement of a new funding mechanism is timely,” said Mr Zapantis.
“Our recent Global Status Report highlights the momentum surrounding CCS. Over the last year, we’ve seen the number of facilities operating or in development around the world almost double. CCS is very real and happening now.”
“CCS applications are diversifying, with deployment emerging across hydrogen, steel, chemicals and fertilisers, and cement. More than that, negative emissions technologies including direct air capture will be critical in removing CO2 already in the atmosphere.”
“The costs for deployment have fallen over the past decade and will continue to fall. Criticisms of CCS as failure or too expensive are outdated, out-of-touch and endanger real emissions reductions opportunities.”
“While we welcome the potential funding for CCS and other abatement solutions, net-zero and necessary private sector investment will be underpinned by durable policy with clear short- and medium-term targets.”
“CCS is necessary, alongside all other abatement options, to drive emissions at lowest cost and risk. If you take anything off the table, it gets harder. CCS also enables a just transition for communities that currently rely upon emissions-intense industries for employment, as we accelerate towards net-zero emissions.”
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Matt Steyn (Melbourne): +61 405 018 007 matt.steyn@globalccsinstitute.com
About the Global CCS Institute: The Global CCS Institute is an international think tank whose mission is to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a vital technology to tackle climate change and provide energy security. For more information, visit www.globalccsinstitute.com