Two weeks ago our Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek tabled a Bill to enable C02 to be imported to Australia for undersea storage.
This follows a Parliamentary Committee which endorsed amending our commitment to The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (The London Protocol).
The Committee excitedly reported that “Australia could be at the forefront of regional (carbon) storage”. Labor has already approved two new offshore greenhouse gas storage areas, off the coast of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
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It’s a pity that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) does not actually work.
CCS for Chevron’s Gorgon gas project, off the northwest coast of Western Australia, is the only operating carbon capture facility in Australia and is one of the world’s largest. And even this ‘flagship project’ is a massive failure.
Start-up was more than three years late
Even now, CCS is running at only one-third of planned capacity, and becoming progressively worse each year: from 2.7m tonnes in 2019-2020, to 2.2m tonnes in 2020-2021, to only 1.6m tonnes in 2021-2022.
Meanwhile, the Gorgon gasfield’s emissions have increased by more than 50%.
Yet, despite this consistent story of failure, the project has received $60 million of Federal funding.
And to cap off a bad story: Gorgon is only required to capture and store CO2 escaping from the gas reservoir. Not from processing the gas. 😡😡😡 Not from its customers who burn the gas. 😡😡😡😡😡. Gorgon is not required to capture all the C02 that would find its way into our atmosphere, and it doesn’t work anyway! 💣💣💣💣
A report by The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) “Carbon capture: a decarbonisation pipe dream” states:
Of the 13 flagship large-scale CCS projects (55% of the total current operational capacity worldwide), seven underperformed, two failed, and one was mothballed.
The two most successful projects, Norway’s Sleipner and Snøhvit gas processing facilities, have developed unexpected problems:
At Sleipner, CO2 has escaped from its lower-level injection point to a previously unidentified shallow layer (fortunately still underground).
A Snøhvit geological structure expected to have 18 years’ worth of CO2 storage capacity looks like it has less than six months left.
Close to 90% of proposed CCS capacity for coal-fired power plants has failed at implementation stage or was suspended early. Those few that worked mostly failed to operate at their theoretically designed capturing rates.
Successful projects have almost exclusively been used to push more oil out of the ground, by injecting CO2 into oil reservoirs. This then actually increases emissions in the long run and makes climate change worse.
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With more spin than a tumble dryer, Chevron Australia's David Fallon stressed Gorgon was not a failure and was sequestering carbon. "Gorgon CCS does work," he said. Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King enthusiastically says “Carbon Capture and Storage has a vital role to play to help Australia meet its net zero targets. Australia is ideally placed to become a world leader in this emerging industry..”
So you see that we cannot rest, we still have work to do.
What can you do today?
🐝 If you have 5 minutes:
A recent report from the Grattan Institute shows that more than half of Australian households - renters, people living in strata-titled properties, and those with low incomes and savings - face significant barriers to electrifying their homes. Governments need to help all Australians access the benefits of bill-slashing rooftop solar, battery storage, and efficient electric appliances to replace gas. No one should be left behind, whether you own your home or live in an apartment, rental or social housing.
Action: Sign the petition calling on federal and state governments to implement programs to make affordable clean technology available to all households while paving the way forward towards a more equitable, renewable-powered grid.
Lock the Gate has been campaigning for some years to protect the Lake Eyre Basin from further fossil fuel developments, with a few recent wins: Origin Energy has given up its fracking leases; and the Queensland Government is asking for community views on whether to protect the Lake Eyre Basin rivers and floodplains. Help keep this good news flowing.
Action: Make a submission to the Qld Government. Use the default text provided by Lock the Gate, or better, amend the text to be in your own words.
Commonwealth Bank is finishing its review into its oil and gas lending policy on the 9th August. Their current policy gives at least two more years for clients like Santos, Glencore and Beach Energy to progress their new fossil fuel projects before CommBank will even consider ending their banking relationship with them. Tell them this is not good enough.
Action: Send an email to Commonwealth Bank Board members, urging them to cease financing oil and gas; or send a meeting request to CommBank CEO Matt Comyn. See our 30 Minute Actions, below, for an in-person action to take at Commonwealth Bank.
🐇 If you have 15 minutes:
URGENT: This Friday, Energy Ministers will decide who takes responsibility for emissions from Beetaloo Basin gas. Fracking Beetaloo is a carbon bomb. It would create 38.9 million tonnes of domestic greenhouse gas emissions yearly, equivalent to a climate liability of over $22 billion for the next two decades. Tamboran Resources wants to avoid any responsibility for the emissions created by the customers who burn their gas.
Action: Email Qld Energy Minister Mick De Brenni to ask him to make polluters like Tamboran fully responsible for offsetting all domestic emissions at Beetaloo.
Australia’s biggest climate wrecker Woodside is proceeding with a new oil field named ‘Trion’ in the Gulf of Mexico, as well the destructive Scarborough gas field and Pluto gas plant in Western Australia. The projected emissions from the combined Scarborough and Pluto projects are equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 15 coal-fired power stations! Almost all Australian Super Funds invest in Woodside, even while they supposedly commit to a goal of net zero by 2050. Use your power as a Super Fund member and tell your Super Fund to ditch Woodside: this is the only way to live up to their net zero goals.
Action: Send an email to your Super Fund(s). Use the default text provided by Market Forces, or better, amend the text to be in your own words.
💃🏽 If you have 30 minutes or more:
Market Forces research demonstrates that Commonwealth Bank was Australia’s biggest fossil fuel lender between 2016-2020 and lent $1.5b to fossil fuel companies in 2021 –2022. Show the CEO, the board and their climate team just how much public support there is for them to end fossil fuel lending.
Action: Join an action at the Commbank Queen Street Mall main branch, 240 Queen St, Brisbane City on Tuesday 18th July, 4pm; or join an online working bee on Wednesday 19th July, 6pm, to pile the pressure on CommBank.
Creative direct action doesn’t need to be stressful
Folks across the country held creative actions in May at CommBank offices and branches to demand they break up with oil & gas companies. This report in the Blue Mountains Gazette about the action held at the Springwood Blue Mountains Branch shows how much fun and how empowering these actions can be, describing it as "very congenial".
Lots of other groups around the country agree: check out this photo of a protest in Brisbane City getting their voices heard through music, comedy routines, and great chalk artistry.
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That’s all for today, folks. Thanks for taking action. See you in two weeks
Ron
plus Jan, Robyn and Malcolm - The Climate Club Qld team
We live, work and play on the lands of the Yuggara and Turrbal people in and around Meanjin - Brisbane. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded - always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
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