Environmental Reforms Essential for Fast-Tracking Low Emission Technologies

Low Emission Technology Australia (LETA) says the passage of the Government’s reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act represents an important step towards clearer and faster decisions for project proponents developing critical low emission technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS). 

LETA Chief Executive Mark McCallum said the shift to a “fast yes, fast no” approach must now be implemented in a way that gives investors confidence while maintaining strong protections for nature. 

“Industry has been asking for a system that gives a fast yes to responsible projects like carbon capture and storage. These projects are already contributing significant to emission reduction efforts here in Australia and around the world with minimal, if any, environmental impact,” Mr McCallum said.  

“If these reforms are implemented well, they can shorten approval timeframes, reduce duplication and give project proponents the certainty they need to invest in safe and proven technologies that cut emissions at scale.” 

Mr McCallum said it was essential that the new approval pathways and regional planning processes explicitly recognise the role of CCS, ventilation air methane abatement and low carbon hydrogen in achieving Australia’s emissions targets while keeping heavy industry competitive. 

“As the Government’s own Net Zero plans recognise, CCS is one of the few options that can deeply decarbonise steel, cement, chemicals and coal mining,” he said. “The new EPBC framework needs to treat these projects as part of the solution and ensure they can be assessed on clear, science-based criteria.” 

Independent economic analysis by EY-Parthenon, commissioned by LETA, has found that a fully networked CCS industry on Australia’s east coast could “increase economic activity by around $66 billion and support an additional 15,250 jobs over the coming decades”. 

Mr McCallum said clearer and faster federal decisions were particularly important for complex, multijurisdictional projects such as shared CO₂ transport and storage hubs that will underpin a CCS industry in eastern Australia. 

LETA also reiterated its call for a national CCUS strategy to sit alongside the EPBC reforms, to coordinate common-user CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure, set clear sequestration goals and align state and federal agencies. 

ENDS