Australia’s CCS sector needs state backing to thrive

Developers look to government’s forthcoming budget to restore support as industry suffers loss of momentum

Australia’s Labor government reduced financial support for CCS following its 2022 election victory, scrapping A$250m ($163m) in funding for projects pledged under the previous Coalition administration. The party’s next budget brought only a A$12m review of environmental regulations covering offshore upstream and CCS projects. While the sector continues to develop, its speed has slowed without direct government backing. Indeed, in the wake of the 2022–23 budget, many carbon abatement projects that lost funding entered limbo. As such, with the 2024–25 budget just around the corner, many within the CCS sector will hope the government adopts a more supportive attitude towards the industry. In it