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Perth Rising Tide Media Releases 2007
Unproven technology to be trial tested in Kwinana: New time bomb for future generations that will not help stop climate change
June 5, 2007: BP and Rio Tinto in their joint venture ‘Hydrogen Energy’ want to build a pilot 500 megawatt coal-fired power station in Kwinana, with offshore geosequestration capability. But climate action group Perth Rising Tide say the project is a waste of time and resources in the effort to prevent dangerous climate change.
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) says that large-scale geosequestration technology may become feasible in 50 years time. But this is far too late to prevent the effects of dangerous climate change. Australia needs to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 in an effort to avoid the effects of dangerous climate change.
The IPCC say geosequestration could at best capture only 9-12 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. The IPCC also found that up to 70 per cent of emissions from electricity generation in 2050 may not even be suited to geosequestration. Safe geological storage of carbon dioxide as a supercritical liquid remains unproven. Commercial trials of geosequestration only began in 1996.
A spokesperson for Western Australian climate action group Perth Rising Tide, said today: “WA does not need another coal-fired power plant. And there is no such thing as ‘clean coal’. It’s a myth.”
“In reality Climate Change has become the economic noose around the neck of fossil fuel industries. Carbon capture and storage is a last ditched attempt to exist in a carbon-challenged future.”
“Industry is desperate for geosequestration to be considered by governments as a ‘low emissions’ technology because without government subsidies geosequestration projects will not get off the ground.”
Perth Rising Tide say: “Government money should be spent on proven low emission renewable technologies such as wind, solar, geothermal and bioenergy. These technologies are commercially available today and would generate major investment and job development in Australia.”
“There are fears within the scientific community that carbon dioxide may not behave as expected when it is stored in geological formations. Indeed the presence of other minerals could cause chemical reactions, which could lead to the carbon dioxide leaking.”
“Should CO2 leakage occur, any climate change benefits would be lost, coupled with an immediate and serious threat to both human health and life in the surrounding ecosystems. Who will foot the bill should a major leakage occur? Taxpayers should not have to clean up the mess caused by a grasping climate change industry.”
The Kwinana project is one of three worldwide geosequestration projects proposed by Hydrogen Energy. Since last weeks announcement Hydrogen Energy has had to scrap the plans for its British proposal due to lack of government support.
Media contact: Phone 0402 573 580
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