CAN Australia lead the world in carbon capture technology? The influential climate scientist James Hansen hopes so. In an open letter published last week, he asked Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd not to build any new coal-fired power plants until the technology to capture and store carbon dioxide is ready.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking for anyone who will take the lead. These governments are saying all the right words, but so far they haven鈥檛 been willing to take action,鈥� Hansen says. A similar request to the UK government has so far fallen on deaf ears
Australia is among the world鈥檚 top emitters of CO2 per capita and a major coal exporter. But change is in the air.
Advertisement
This week, the Canberra-based Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies will start to inject 100,000 tonnes of CO2 into a well on the coast of South Australia in what promises to be one of the world鈥檚 largest carbon burial experiments. Also the first of three carbon capture test plants retrofitted to coal-fired power stations will switch on in Victoria in the next few months.
Energy and Fuels 鈥� Learn more about the looming energy crisis in our comprehensive special report.
Climate Change 鈥� Want to know more about global warming: the science, impacts and political debate? Visit our continually updated special report.
