Carbon Loop #014
IM-oh no
A newsletter by the CCUSNA dedicated to highlighting the Australian carbon capture, utilisation and storage industry.
⚓ Shipping’s Carbon-Course Correction ..
The International Maritime Organization has postponed a formal vote on its long-planned Net-Zero Framework for international shipping after member states failed to agree on a global carbon-pricing mechanism. The decision followed strong ‘lobbying’ from the US to delay the vote amid divisions between developed and developing nations. Talks will now resume in 2026.
The framework was intended to advance the IMO’s goal of net-zero emissions from shipping by around 2050, introducing a levy on marine fuel and a fund to support developing countries’ transitions. Its deferral leaves the sector — responsible for roughly 3% of global CO₂ emissions — without a clear price signal or regulatory pathway.
In the first draft of this issue, ChatGPT tried to spin this as “double-edged,” but let’s be honest — Skynet’s wrong. This isn’t nuanced. It’s just bad news. Lower-carbon ammonia, made with CCS, will likely be key to meeting future demand for low-carbon maritime fuels. A delay to the IMO’s framework is a delay to that demand — and to the development of a CCS industry. Sad face.
🔗 Links:
🌿 EPBC Reform: Big Changes, Familiar Tensions
The Federal Government has released the long-awaited draft reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act — Australia’s central environmental legislation — setting the stage for some of the biggest regulatory shifts in decades. The changes aim to streamline project approvals, strengthen national environmental standards, and establish a new federal Environment Protection Agency.
Predictably, the politics have flared up fast. The Coalition has accused the Government of overreach, while conservation groups say the reforms don’t go far enough — especially after a “climate trigger” was formally ruled out. That trigger would have required new fossil fuel projects to be assessed for their climate impact, but the Government opted instead to address climate change and greenhouse gas emissions through other mechanisms.
This whole climate trigger thing seems complicated. I’m not smart enough to say whether it should or shouldn’t get up. But here’s one thought: introducing a climate trigger could actually help the development of an Australian CCUS industry. One of the simplest ways for big gas projects to satisfy such a trigger would be to either (1) lock in long-term gas supply deals with industrial buyers who have credible CCS plans, or (2) build their own CCS projects so they can take back the carbon from their gas — cutting their scope 3 emissions in the process.
Is that enough to say a climate trigger is overall a good idea or a bad idea? No. But this is a blog about an Australian CCUS Industry, and so I’m going to ride that bias a little further.
🔗 Links:
Norton Rose Fulbright – EPBC Act Reforms: Setting the Scene for Major Changes
ABC – Climate Trigger Formally Ruled Out of Environment Laws
🌏 Global CCUS momentum ..
🇪🇺 Europe
🇬🇧 ENI drills first CCS well: The Italian major has completed its maiden appraisal well at the UK’s HyNet project — a tangible milestone for one of Europe’s flagship storage hubs. Upstream Online
🇩🇰 Denmark backs NorMod: Copenhagen has committed €294 million to the NorMod CCS project, further entrenching its role as one of Europe’s early large-scale storage leaders. Carbon Credits
🇪🇺 Cement still the hard case: Forbes takes a look at why the sector remains so difficult to decarbonise — and why carbon capture remains central to the fix. Forbes
🌍 Carbon storage gathers pace: A new Vital briefing charts the accelerating build-out of European storage capacity and investment pipelines, arguing that CCUS is shifting from policy talk to business reality across the continent. LinkedIn
🌐 CCUS keeps climbing the curve: A sharp post on how carbon capture is moving from pilot to portfolio scale — and why continued government backing will be essential to keep momentum as private capital starts to lean in. LinkedIn
🇺🇸 North America
🇺🇸 Louisiana issues CCS directive: A new statewide order aims to standardise permitting and oversight, reinforcing the Gulf Coast’s push to become the US’s CCS capital. Louisiana Gov
🇦🇺 Australia & Asia-Pacific ..
🇦🇺 New offshore storage data: Geoscience Australia has released new datasets through NOPIMS, mapping potential offshore CO₂ storage formations and giving developers clearer sightlines for future project areas. GA Update
🇸🇬 Regional cooperation: ANGEA has reiterated that CCS is a “real solution” for Asia’s decarbonisation needs — reinforcing growing alignment across ASEAN and Pacific partners. ANGE Association
🌏 Build Clean Now: The Mission Possible Partnership’s new platform is urging heavy industries across Asia and the Pacific to commit to near-zero materials supply chains — positioning CCS as a core lever for decarbonising cement, steel and chemicals. Build Clean Now
🌐 Global industry & tech ..
🌐 Google enters CCS: Google has launched its first carbon capture and storage project — a small step for Big Tech, but a clear signal that digital giants are moving beyond offsets into real-world removal. Google Blog
🇬🇧 CCSA milestones: The UK’s Carbon Capture and Storage Association reports first-of-a-kind progress on projects in the energy-from-waste and cement sectors — modest in scale but big in precedent. CCSA News
🌐 Carbon Measures launches: A new international initiative aims to standardise how we measure and verify the performance of CCS projects globally — a quiet but crucial step for investor confidence. Carbon Measures
🇨🇦 Carbon Removal Canada update: The network’s latest roundup spotlights a surge of new project developers and supportive policy moves across North America, reflecting growing confidence that carbon removal is scaling for real. Carbon Removal Canada (LinkedIn)
🌐 Vital momentum: A suite of recent analyses and LinkedIn commentary — from Vital, Steve Everley, Ross Weiter and Rosie Johnstone — all point to one theme: the CCUS conversation is getting louder, broader, and more commercially grounded. Vital LinkedIn | Ross Weiter | Rosie Johnstone (CCUS Network)
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