Building on a CSIRO technical report, the Climate Change Authority finds that Australia is endowed with carbon sequestration potential supply but that our ability to realise this potential is not yet well understood.

The CSIRO technical report investigated technical potential, which is the maximum sequestration biophysically or technically possible without taking account of economic feasibility or competition for resources.

Demand for sequestration to counterbalance hard-to-abate emissions will add even more pressure on these resources.

The CSIRO technical report investigated 12 sequestration technologies in detail, including biological technologies such as farm forestry and engineered technologies such as direct air capture, and found that no single technology appears able to deliver all of Australia’s current and future sequestration capacity.

With our large land mass, and expertise in science and engineering, Australia could have one of the largest sequestration industries in the world.

We have an opportunity to lead in technological advancement, but other nations are also addressing the sequestration issue at pace We need to act quickly on emissions reduction as well as sequestration to make sure we don’t miss the opportunity to become a sequestration leader.

As a nation endowed with land, sun, wind and a geologically stable land mass, sequestration presents economic opportunities for Australia in a low-emissions world through the reshaping of existing industries and the creation of new enterprises.