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

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

News

06/01/25

Brazil's EV sales hit record high in 2024

Sao Paulo, 6 January (Argus) — Brazil's sales of electric vehicles (EVs) increased by 90pc to a record 177,360 units in 2024, according to the electric vehicle association ABVE. EV sales last year rose from 93,930 units in 2023. That includes battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), micro hybrid and mild hybrid electric vehicles (MHEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and flex HEVs. Disregarding micro hybrid units, which are not considered fully electrical, EV sales reached 173,530 last year, an 85pc increase from 2023. Plug-in market rising Sales of plug-in vehicles — including PHEVs and BVEs — totaled almost 125,625 in 2024, representing a 71pc of total EV sales and more than double from the 52,360 units sold in 2023. The expansion of the recharging infrastructure in Brazil drove the plug-in market growth, reducing concerns about the utilization of EVs in long-distance travels. There were more than 12,000 charging stations in the country as of early December, according to charging station management platform Tupi Mobilidade. Hybrid vehicles without external chargers — such as HEVs, flex HEVs and MHEVs — accounted for 29pc of total sales in 2024, with around 51,735 units, a 24pc hike from 2023. Sao Paulo keeps leading the way Southeastern Sao Paulo state remained the leader of EV sales in Brazil, with nearly 56,820 units sold and accounting for 32pc of total sales, followed by federal district Brasilia, with 9pc. Rio de Janeiro, Parana and Santa Catarina states represented 7.2pc, 6.8pc and 6.5pc, respectively, of Brazil's EVs sales. By Maria Albuquerque Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Find out more

News

Brazil registers warmest year in 2024

06/01/25

News

06/01/25

Brazil registers warmest year in 2024

Sao Paulo, 6 January (Argus) — Brazil registered an average temperature of 25.02°C (77°F) in 2024, the hottest year since 1961, thanks largely to the El Niño weather phenomenon, according to national institute of meteorology Inmet. Last year's average temperature was 0.79°C above the 1991-2020 average of 24.23°C, Inmet said. The El Niño natural phenomenon — which occurs when the ocean surface in the central eastern Pacific Ocean becomes warmer than average — altered temperatures in Brazil in 2023-2024.The hottest years in the country tend to coincide with the phenomenon, according to Inmet. Brazil had extreme climate events throughout 2024, with floods in southern Rio Grande do Sul state , which damaged roads and crops, and wildfires in the southeast . The country's average temperature in 2023 was 24.92°C, 0.69°C above the average between 1991-2020. By Maria Frazatto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Canadian prime minister Trudeau to resign

06/01/25

News

06/01/25

Canadian prime minister Trudeau to resign

Calgary, 6 January (Argus) — Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said he will resign as soon as his Liberal Party selects a new leader to run in general elections expected later this year. Calls for Trudeau to resign have been growing for months but became too much to ignore as the Liberals continued to fall further behind the Conservative Party and its leader Pierre Poilievre in polling. Recent polls indicate the centre-right Conservatives would win a majority of seats in the House of Commons if an election were held today. "If I'm having to fight internal battles, I can't be the best option in that election," Trudeau said in Ottawa this morning. Parliament was set to return from a break on 27 January, at which time Conservatives were expected to attempt to trigger an election by way of a no-confidence vote. Canada's governor general — at Trudeau's request — extended the break until 24 March. That break will buy the Liberals time to find a new leader but it will be a tall order for any successor to both unite the party and also connect with Canadians on short notice before an expected spring election. "There will be confidence votes in March," said Trudeau, whose minority government has been propped up by the New Democratic Party (NDP). The NDP has helped Trudeau survive no-confidence votes in recent months, but on 20 December vowed that it would also bring the government down when it returned to session. Trudeau was elected as a member of parliament (MP) in 2008, leader of the Liberal Party in 2013, and has been prime minister since 2015 after defeating the then Stephen Harper-led Conservatives. There is no obvious replacement for Trudeau after deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland resigned last month , citing "costly political gimmicks," unrestrained spending and being at odds over the approach to the "grave challenge" of aggressive US nationalism. US president-elect Donald Trump has threatened a 25pc tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico unless they tighten borders to crack down on drug trafficking and illegal migration into the US. Trudeau's plan to resign does not change the Conservative party's plans to call for new elections, Poilievre said today. "Every Liberal MP in power today and every potential leadership contender fighting for the top job helped Justin Trudeau break the country over the last nine years," he said. If elected, Poilievre plans to cut a number of environmental programs championed by the Liberals, including the carbon tax. The Conservatives support the continued use of oil and gas, exploration for hydrocarbons, and pipeline construction. The next federal election must occur on or before 25 October this year, according to the electoral calendar. By Brett Holmes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Carbon management a must for EU clean industry: ZEP

06/01/25

News

06/01/25

Carbon management a must for EU clean industry: ZEP

Brussels, 6 January (Argus) — The European Commission must move beyond just renewables and electrification to a more holistic approach to decarbonisation, Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP) secretary-general Eadbhard Pernot told Argus ahead of the commission's expected Clean Industrial Deal proposal on 26 February. How important is this Clean Industrial Deal? The industrial sector is directly responsible for some 20-25pc of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. If you factor in all energy emissions linked to the industrial sector — whether in power or other sectors — then you're looking at 40-45pc of GHG emissions. Under existing tools like the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), globally traded industrial products such as steel or aluminium will still be imported at lower cost from other regions, such as China, with massive oversupply. In many cases, exporters will shift existing clean production to Europe and send other carbon-intensive products elsewhere. Or they will simply import finished products like cars here without accounting for those emissions. It's a lose-lose. What other specific concrete adjustments can the EU or Clean Industrial Deal bring? Creating a market for decarbonised cement, fertilisers, steel and aluminium, for example, should be on the list of things in the Clean Industrial Deal. In many cases, governments themselves are the ones procuring products — think of bridges and other major infrastructure. That entails reform of EU procurement rules and having long-term offtake agreements. We've got a lot of industrial sites that are going to start producing decarbonised products within the next year or so. If we look at Norway's Longship Project — with multiple emitters, including the Norcem cement plant in Brevik, fertiliser producer Yara, and Haflsund's waste to energy facility — multiple industrial producers are going to be producing decarbonised products and services in the next years, built around common infrastructure projects. We have to ensure a market exists for them. How do you see the wider industrial carbon management strategy unfolding? With the EU elections in June and the start of a new commission, 2024 wasn't an ordinary year. But things are moving in the background. So far, there's been a particular focus on where the best areas are in Europe to develop commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites, like the North Sea, but now it's clear that CCS is essential for the whole of Europe. Central, eastern and southern European countries are taking action. What other legislative solutions do you want to see? Currently, there are no clear EU-wide rules on how the CCS market functions — unlike for gas, power and hydrogen. So we need to secure a regulatory framework for CO2 transport, tackling competitive issues, pricing, ownership of infrastructure and third-party access. We need rules of the game for emitters, storage sites, pipelines and shippers. We hope to see that EU framework within the next 18 months. This is really important for investors and lenders too. At the moment, we only have a patchwork with the 2009 CCS Directive. And the only country with a detailed comprehensive framework is outside the EU — the UK. Do you think the EU really has the political will to push for CCS? Given the role that CCS and carbon capture and use (CCU) will have to play in emissions reductions as well as removals, industrial carbon management is essential to meet the EU's net 90pc GHG CO2 reduction target for 2040. It's non-negotiable, and politicians recognise this now across the political spectrum. Can hydrogen help decarbonise industry? Clean hydrogen certainly has the potential to decarbonise some hard-to-abate industrial processes in the long term. The hydrogen industry is also currently responsible for a significant chunk of European emissions, and that isn't discussed enough. When making grey hydrogen, we need to stop venting CO2 into the atmosphere that could otherwise just be permanently geologically stored. Our focus in the recent EU delegated act on low-carbon hydrogen was to ensure the criteria for carbon stored outside Europe meet the same standard as ours in the EU. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Landmark legal opinion on climate expected in 2025

03/01/25

News

03/01/25

Landmark legal opinion on climate expected in 2025

The ICJ guidance will inform the growing number of national and international climate cases, writes Georgia Gratton London, 3 January (Argus) — Last year saw historic outcomes in international legal cases centred on climate change, from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to the world's highest court for marine protection, Itlos. And 2025 could see more, as the visible impacts of a heating planet increase. The UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to reach an outcome in 2025 that is likely be a "watershed moment for international climate governance", think-tank IISD's Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) says. Hearings for the ICJ proceedings wrapped up in mid-December. The court — which all 193 UN member states are party to — will issue an advisory opinion on states' responsibilities with regard to climate change. ICJ advisory opinions are not legally binding, but the outcome will "serve as definitive guidance from the world's highest court", environment organisation ClientEarth lawyer Lea Main-Klingst tells Argus . The issue under consideration at the ICJ was originally spearheaded by the small island state of Vanuatu, and led to a UN General Assembly request for the ICJ's advisory opinion on states' obligation to "ensure the protection of the climate system and other parts of the environment from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases for states and for present and future generations". It also seeks the ICJ's opinion on the legal consequences for states when they "by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment". Countries gave verbal evidence outside the negotiating blocs typically seen at forums such as Cop climate summits, meaning countries "were free to articulate their own positions, often with surprising divergences from other speakers in the same negotiating group", according to ENB. Countries and some organisations will also be able to submit written evidence on topics including fossil fuel production and mitigation — actions to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Case study The ICJ proceedings "will be very relevant to all climate-related cases both at the domestic and international level — and the number of these cases is only growing", Main-Klingst says. The ECHR ruled in April that signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights must protect their citizens from "serious adverse effects of climate change". And the Itlos outcome in May — another advisory opinion — was similar, finding that states have an obligation to reduce their GHG emissions to protect oceans. The UK could prove to be a case study. The country's Supreme Court ruled in June — days before the current Labour government took power — that consent for an oil development in southern England was unlawful as it had not taken into account downstream emissions. The new government had already pledged to issue no new oil and gas permits, but it has since used the ruling to kick-start an overhaul of environmental guidance for oil and gas firms, which could have implications for previously approved developments. The damage caused by climate change is growing, making it more crucial to settle legal parameters. Scientists are in agreement that 2024 will be the hottest on record, smashing the current record set in 2023. And insured losses from natural catastrophes — proven to be made more intense by climate change — easily broke the $100bn mark in 2024, for a fifth consecutive year, reinsurance firm Swiss Re says. This does not take into account the scale of uninsured assets, which are often in the most vulnerable countries. These factors put further pressure on international courts to clarify and set expectations on an issue that is not confined to national borders. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more