The Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI)
In April 2009, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd officially launched the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI) in Canberra, which has the support of 85 Governments, institutions and corporations from around the world.
At the launch, Rudd described the GCCSI as “a major initiative to drive global cooperation to deploy technologies that can play a very important part in our transition to the low carbon economy of the future."
Read the transcript of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s speech.
The Rudd Government will contribute up to $100 million each year to the GCCSI, which aims to generate investment in CCS technology and deliver the G8’s goal of having 20 large-scale CCS plants in operation by 2020.
The federal commitment: $2.4 billion in CCS funding
As part of the May 2009 Budget, the Australian government announced the Clean Energy Initiative (CEI) to support the research, development and demonstration of low-emission energy technologies. A key component of the CEI is the CCS Flagships program, which will receive over $2.4 billion over 9 years to create two to four full-scale CCS demonstration projects in Australia, creating 1000 megawatts of low-emission fossil fuel power generation.
The CEI will also provide over $2 billion in funding for solar energy and other renewable projects to ensure that the Australian government reaches its target of producing 20% of Australia’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Learn more about the Clean Energy Initiative.
The States’ commitment: more than $500 million
State-based initiatives also represent major commitments towards ongoing low-emissions coal technology research. These include:
- Queensland Clean Coal Council / $300 million
- NSW Clean Coal Council / $100 million
- Victoria Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS) / $110 million
Together, these commitments represent an extraordinary partnership between government, industry and the research community to support low-emissions coal technology research.