Environment Victoria statement on Esso’s South East Australia Carbon Capture and Storage project

In response to Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny’s decision that Esso not be required to prepare an environmental effects statement (EES) for the onshore component of their risky, unproven carbon capture and storage (CCS) project off Gippsland, Kat Lucas-Healey, Environment Victoria’s Senior Climate and Energy Adviser, said today: 

Carbon capture and storage is unproven technology deployed to prolong the burning of fossil fuels.

“The project presents unmanaged risks to locals and will lock in decades of seismic blasting if it goes ahead.

“The project will use old pipelines that were never built for transporting carbon dioxide and which are known to rupture, including ductile fractures that can destroy long sections of pipeline and endanger lives.

“Despite the dangers, Esso did not assess the risk of pipeline rupture in their application.

“If the project goes ahead, it will likely require seismic surveys over decades to monitor the storage for carbon dioxide leaks.

“Seismic surveys are one of the biggest threats to endangered marine species including the pygmy blue and southern right whales, which migrate and forage off Gippsland.

“Esso didn’t consider the impacts of seismic surveys in their application either.

“It’s now essential that the Commonwealth government ensures Esso’s project is subject to rigorous assessment.”

“The urgency of climate action means that we must decarbonise using options that work and are available now,” she said.

Read Environment Victoria’s Submission here

Image credit: Thomas Hawk