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Surfrider Australia chair Sean Doherty said the global oil and gas industry had pulled \u201ctrillions of dollars out of the ground\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s phenomenally profitable and for one main reason – they\u2019ve been allowed to pollute for free. They\u2019ve been able to treat the atmosphere like an open sewer and none of that has ever appeared as an externality on a balance sheet. That\u2019s changing. The world won\u2019t allow that any more.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, what do they do? They come up with a brilliant plan. They\u2019ll not only get paid to pull carbon from the ground, they\u2019re trying to get paid for shoving it back in. Audacious, brilliant, and you\u2019d have to admire it if it wasn\u2019t killing the planet \u2026 the even more audacious part is that we\u2019ll be paying for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The groups said they were not opposed to CCS research and development in fields such as agriculture.<\/p>\n
Protestors said Santos, Woodside, Chevron, Coal Innovation NSW and J-Power were represented at the forum, but a CO2CRC spokesperson would not confirm this.<\/p>\n
\u201cCO2CRC take a technology neutral approach to reduce CO2 emissions from the atmosphere and explore many technologies,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarbon capture, utilisation and storage is a proven and essential technology. The International Energy Agency clearly states that reaching net zero is ‘virtually impossible\u2019 without CCUS. There are currently 27 operating CCUS projects globally, with another 102 in development.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarbon storage is immediate and permanent. The geological storage of carbon dioxide provides emission reduction at significant scale, that is stored permanently with immediate effect.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AUSTRALIA\u2019S energy future was under debate in Torquay on Monday this week, with a carbon capture and storage (CCS) conference inside and protesters gathering outside. About 50 people brought banners and listened to speeches on the grounds outside the RACV Torquay Resort, which was hosting a symposium by CCS research organisation CO2CRC. Attendees at the […]<\/p>\n