Sequestration is a necessary part of any rapid, urgent decarbonisation, and the sequestration industry represents a huge opportunity for Australia if we get it right.
The Climate Change Authority has released its latest policy insights paper, ‘Reduce, remove and store: The role of carbon sequestration in accelerating Australia’s decarbonisation’, following estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that around 6 billion tonnes of CO2 would have to be removed per year by 2050 globally, and about 14 billion tonnes per year by 2100, for a 50 per cent chance of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C.
Strong and urgent emissions cuts, together with growth in carbon sequestration, are critical not only to achieve global net zero emissions by mid-century, but also to reach net-negative emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Carbon sequestration is essential to prevent emissions and to remove them from the atmosphere and offset hard-to-abate emissions.
The paper contains 23 policy insights as part of a “deep dive” designed to help policymakers, emitters and markets to better understand how sequestration can be scaled-up, accelerated and used responsibly. It notes further work is required to better understand just how much of Australia’s sequestration potential can be realised.
The policy insights presented in this paper will inform the Authority’s upcoming work, including advice for the Minister for Climate Change and Energy’s second Annual Climate Change Statement and Australia’s next Nationally Determined Contribution.
The Authority’s Media Release can be found here: PDF and Word
The Insights Paper can be downloaded here: PDF and Word
You will find further information on the Authority’s insights on Australia’s sequestration potential here.
Date: Monday, 17 April 2023