Australian CCS stagnates amid political hesitation

Government’s latest budget suggests it remains on the fence about the role of CCS in the energy transition

In its 14 May budget, Australia’s Labor government unveiled a A$32m ($21.23m) commitment to develop rules and international trade arrangements for CCS. At the same time, it earmarked A$566m over the next ten years for Geoscience Australia’s Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity (RAP) programme. RAP’s mission is to map the country’s on- and offshore resources, and the funds will help the body identify offshore “sites for CCS, as well as possible sites for clean hydrogen projects”. While the government almost tripled the CCS funding from last year’s budget, both budgets limited spending to the clarification of rules rather than direct project support. This is a far cry from the previous Coalition