New research highlights the vast potential for Australia’s domestic carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry, positioning it as a key contributor to regional emissions reduction and economic growth, according to the Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association (ANGEA).
ANGEA CEO Paul Everingham pointed to the recent Ernst & Young (EY) report, Beneath the surface: The economic potential for carbon capture and storage in Australia’s eastern states, as underscoring CCS’s role in decarbonising hard-to-abate industries while creating significant economic and jobs benefits.
“This report from EY is welcome,” Everingham said.
“CCS can make a vital contribution to reducing emissions in Australia and the projection of up to $66 billion in economic activity in the eastern states alone is very encouraging.”
The report emphasises the importance of engineered CCS technologies for sectors like metal refining, mining, cement production, and fertiliser manufacturing — industries that are difficult to decarbonise by other means.
Australia’s burgeoning CCS capacity has already garnered momentum, with projects such as the Moomba facility successfully storing over a million tonnes of CO2, demonstrating CCS as a proven technology for large-scale decarbonisation.
Everingham also highlighted the broader regional implications of CCS, noting that Australia’s largest opportunity lies in cross-border CO2 value chains.
“Australia has billions of tonnes of storage space for CO2, which key trading partners such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore all lack,” he said.
“By becoming a storage destination for emissions from Asia, Australia can make an enormous contribution to the regional decarbonisation that will be necessary to progress climate objectives.”
He noted the juxtaposition of CCS’s readiness compared to emerging technologies like green hydrogen, where challenges remain a barrier to widespread emission reductions.
The economic upside extends beyond Australia’s borders.
Research from Boston Consulting Group projects that CCS in the Asia Pacific region could support up to 300,000 jobs and add US$220 billion to regional GDP annually by 2035.
However, Everingham stressed there is still a critical “missing piece” in regulatory and policy frameworks.
“The missing piece for cross-border CCS remains regulatory and policy settings that would help unlock significant investments required to underpin regional value chains,” he said.
“Australia has an opportunity to be a leader in this space, working with its trade partners around the region to ensure development of cross-border CCS is not held back by uncertainty around policy, regulation or legal aspects.”
ANGEA has published an Accelerating Cross-Border CCS In Asia Pacific Study to guide governments in negotiating agreements to advance this goal.
“We look forward to working with key stakeholders around the region to help convert the potential of cross-border CCS into reality,” Everingham concluded.
Australia’s emerging role as a regional CCS hub could prove instrumental in addressing climate change while unlocking economic opportunities both domestically and across the Asia Pacific.
