Increasing calls for CCUS highlights ERP blindspot - Energy Resources Aotearoa

Energy Resources Aotearoa welcomes the release of Ara Ake’s report Carbon Dioxide Removal and Usage in Aotearoa New Zealand noting it highlights a regulatory blind-spot in New Zealand’s climate policy and regulatory settings.

Ara Ake’s report adds to a growing chorus of calls for the Government to enable the use of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology to help New Zealand attain its net zero emissions goals Energy Resources Aotearoa Chief Executive John Carnegie says.

"CCUS technology is so important that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated its use is "unavoidable" if countries are to achieve net zero carbon emissions. Unfortunately, this has not been picked up by the Government because of its myopic focus on gross emissions.

"Last week the Government announced their Emissions Reduction Plan which highlighted all sorts of weird and wonderful ways they want Kiwis to reduce emissions while almost completely overlooking the important role CCUS could play."

Ara Ake joins groups such as the Aotearoa Circle, the New Zealand Initiative, and Energy Resources Aotearoa in calling for an enabling regulatory framework to allow the use of CCUS.

"Calls to allow CCUS are only going to increase as the rest of the world proves their success. New Zealand should not be wilfully blind to the opportunities these technologies represent," says Carnegie.

"Several of our member organisations have embraced this technology overseas where there are established regulatory frameworks. They have the technology and the expertise to help New Zealand reduce its carbon emissions, but the Government does not have the regulatory framework that would allow them to act.

"If the Government wants to be serious about climate action, they need to facilitate the use of CCUS including funding from the Green Investment Fund."