Tokyo
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Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests.
It is my pleasure to be here with you today to celebrate the opening of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Institute’s first office in Asia.
Today is a visible illustration of how nations are coming together to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
During this week of clean-coal events here in Tokyo, we are finding new ways to share expertise and collaborate.
Continued growth in the Asia Pacific region is driving demand for more energy and while renewable sources are increasing their share of the energy mix, the use of fossil fuels will continue for some time to come.
That’s why the development and large-scale deployment of technologies like CCS is so important.
The energy relationship between Australia and Japan is longstanding.
Australia has been a long-term, reliable supplier of energy commodities to Japan, and Japan in turn has been a foundation investor in developing Australian projects.
This relationship continues today, not least through the proposed Ichthys LNG project in northern Australia led by INPEX.
And of course dedicated CO2 storage has been occurring since 1996 at large scale in the offshore petroleum industry.
The challenge for us all is applying it to power generation, industrial and other processes, overcoming cost barriers and bringing on commercial scale deployment.
Today, Japan and her regional neighbours, including Australia, are home to more and more clean-energy technology research.
That is why it is so important for the Global CCS Institute to have a physical presence here.
What happens at this office in Tokyo may have an impact on the wellbeing of countless people around the world.
Australia and CCS
As a major exporter of coal, and a major consumer of it for power generation, Australia has a keen interest in CCS.
Commercial deployment of CCS has a critical role in reducing carbon emissions from the energy sector.
That’s why it’s good to be among like-minded innovators, government officials, leaders and companies here in Japan.
Japan and Australia can build on this enduring relationship – to change the way we use coal in the global energy mix.
The Global CCS Institute turns the spirit of cooperation into firm action.
It’s an independent, knowledge-sharing broker for CCS, and a valuable resource for industry, government and researchers.
The Institute now has more than 320 members, with more than two-dozen of those from Japan.
Japan is represented in the Institute’s Canberra office and on the Institute’s Board, too.
Working on joint projects, sharing information, improving regulatory frameworks – all these things have a positive impact.
They promote the transfer, development and deployment of advanced technologies across the world.
They add value to the demonstration projects in Australia under the CCS Flagships and other programs.
Ladies and Gentlemen, by working together, we achieve far more than working independently.
So I applaud all those who bring their skills, experience and commitment to the work of the Global CCS Institute – wherever in the world they apply their expertise.
With this new office in Tokyo, an idea that took shape in Australia now has a visible presence here in Japan.
Thank you