Imaginary friends to invent new science
Australia has taken a giant leap of faith, with the government releasing vast new offshore sites — 10 areas in seven basins off WA, VIC and TAS — for an unproven science.
For about 20 years, governments, big fossil fuel and international agencies have been telling us not to worry about carbon pollution, because carbon capture and storage (CCS) would come to the rescue.
But after 20 years of trying, nobody on Earth has been able to achieve a fully functional or cost-effective CCS program.
Although some small-scale experimental plants have been successful in storing very small amounts of carbon underground, a study published last year showed 80% of all CCS projects have failed.
Friends of the Earth Australia Offshore Fossil Gas Campaigner Jeff Waters called the acreage release a literal smokescreen, and that CCS is unproven, unsafe and unviable.
“Why would an otherwise rational-appearing government continue waltzing down this yellow brick road when the Wizard of Oz has already been exposed?” Jeff Waters asked.
“It’s just nonsense,” he said.
“The only motivation you could possibly presume, is that the government is trying to cover up the vastly disproportionate amount of carbon and methane Australia is unlocking.”
“CCS makes it easier for fossil fuel companies to justify expanding oil and gas extraction to the public, but it doesn’t work, and it doesn’t stop the harm to our climate caused by oil and gas when it’s burned.”
“Some climate scientists say CCS is necessary for hard to abate industries like cement manufacturing, no credible scientist says CCS should be used to justify continued fossil fuel expansion,” he said.
Key Facts:
– Government supports imaginary science
– Pretend CCS covers up pollution
– Aus continues worsening global heating
