"CME has advocated strongly for this legislation to ensure WA's resources sector has access to a full range of decarbonisation technologies"
CME Chief Executive Officer, Rebecca Tomkinson
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA (CME) has welcomed progress by the State Government to support the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors. These moves complement the Federal Government's Future Gas Strategy, released today.
CME Chief Executive, Rebecca Tomkinson, said the passage of the Petroleum Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 through the Legislative Council provided a framework allowing carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be broadly utilised in WA, but noted urgency was now required to develop the supporting regulations and guidance so these projects can proceed.
"CME has advocated strongly for this legislation to ensure WA's resources sector has access to a full range of decarbonisation technologies, which are an essential mechanism for achieving Australia's targets," Ms Tomkinson said.
"CME continues to support investment in a broad range of affordable technologies including for energy efficiency, abatement and carbon sequestration, so the passage of this legislation is important to enable industry to include CCS in their decarbonisation pathways.
"The potential to explore a range of naturally-occurring and low-emissions energy sources, including hydrogen, is a significant step towards a cleaner energy future, but as we've said previously, these initiatives need to link up.
"These announcements are positive for industry and CME is keen to see how they integrate to form a cohesive pathway through regulatory approvals, investment incentives, turnkey readiness and project implementation.
"Without that integration we're not really advancing the industry's agility and competitiveness," she said.
Ms Tomkinson added that it was a positive sign to see the State and Federal Governments acknowledging the role of CCS as part of a suite of abatement measures in Australia's own ability to progress resources projects for the energy transition, while keeping decarbonisation targets viable.
