Australia pledges more funding for hydrogen, CCS

Market: Coal, Electricity, Emissions, Natural gas
21/04/21

The Australian government has pledged further funding for hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) activities, with A$275.5mn ($212mn) to be allocated to develop more hydrogen hubs in regional Australia. The funding will come from the federal budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year to 30 June.

Canberra has identified seven highly prospective locations to develop hydrogen hubs. These are Bell Bay in Tasmania; the Pilbara region in Western Australia (WA); Gladstone in Queensland; Victoria's La Trobe valley; Whyalla in South Australia; Hunter Valley in New South Wales (NSW); and Darwin in the Northern Territory. All of these are already energy-, including thermal coal and gas, or mineral-producing regions and close to port facilities. This implies that the hydrogen is likely to be produced from fossil fuel sources as opposed to renewable sources.

The Australian government said it has now committed around A$850mn in funding for hydrogen. A further A$263.7mn has been allocated for CCS, including potential projects in Moomba in South Australia, Gladstone; the Darling basin region in NSW; the North West Shelf (NSW) and Bonaparte basin, both offshore WA; as well as Darwin and southwestern WA. The new funding is in addition to the A$50mn pledged for CCS projects last year.

The announcements come ahead of the US-hosted virtual climate summit on 22-23 April.

Australia is the world's largest LNG exporter and second-largest thermal coal exporter. Its largest buyers of coal and LNG, China, Japan and South Korea, have all pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and 2060 for China.

By Kevin Morrison

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22/11/24

Cop: Brazil eyes $300bn/yr for climate finance goal

Baku, 22 November (Argus) — Brazil has set out a suggestion of "at least" $300bn/yr in climate finance to be provided by developed countries to developing nations. Brazilian representatives set out their proposal today, in response to a draft text on a new climate finance goal. Brazil's proposal of $300bn/yr in climate finance by 2030 and $390bn/yr by 2035 are in line with the recommendations of a UN-mandated expert group. Negotiations at Cop are continuing late into the evening of the official last day of the conference, with no final texts in sight. Discussions centre around the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) — the climate financing that will be made available to developing countries in the coming years to help them reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. The presidency draft text released this morning put the figure at $250bn/yr by 2035, with a call for "all actors" to work towards a stretch goal of $1.3tn/yr. Representatives of developing countries have reacted angrily to the figure put forward in the text, saying it is far too low. Brazil's proposal appears to call for all of the $300bn-$390bn to be made up of direct public financing, which could then mobilise further funding to reach the $1.3tn/yr. It was inspired by the findings of a UN report, Brazil said. The UN-backed independent high-level group on climate finance today said that the $250bn/yr figure was "too low," and recommended the higher $300bn-390bn/yr goal. Brazil's ask would be a significant step up in the required public financing. The $250bn/yr target includes direct public financing and mobilised private financing, and potentially includes contributions from both developed and developing countries. Wealthier developing countries have been hesitant to see their climate financing fall in this category, which they say should be made up exclusively of developed country money, in line with the Paris Agreement. But $300bn/yr would represent an increase in ambition, Brazil said, while the $250bn/yr called for in the draft text would be very similar to the $100bn/yr goal set in 2009, after taking into account inflation. Delegates at Cop look set to continue discussions into the night. A plenary session planned for late in the evening, which would have allowed parties to express their positions in public, has been cancelled, suggesting groups still have differences to hammer out. By Rhys Talbot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Cop: Developing nations reject first finance offer

22/11/24

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22/11/24

Cop: Developing nations reject first finance offer

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Blenders credit extension stalled in US Senate

22/11/24

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22/11/24

Blenders credit extension stalled in US Senate

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Cop: Decision on 2026 host unlikely in Baku

22/11/24

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22/11/24

Cop: Decision on 2026 host unlikely in Baku

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Cop: Drafts point to trade-off on finance, fossil fuels

22/11/24

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22/11/24

Cop: Drafts point to trade-off on finance, fossil fuels

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