A joint venture between Hybrid Energy Australia and Strike Oil will research the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) techniques and the establishment of sites for carbon storage.

In support of the Kyoto Agreement and Australia’s associated planned national carbon trading scheme, Hybrid Energy Australia plans to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the FuturGas gasification facilities, compress that gas it into a liquid, and then store it in the deep naturally occurring underground cavities of the North Otway Basin.  This process is referred to as ‘geosequestration’.

The company plans to be one of the national leaders in carbon capture and storage research and development which will benefit both Australia and other global carbon emitters.

The main research body investigating CCS in Australia is the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC).

Carbon capture and storage is, as the name implies, a two stage process.  Firstly, the CO2 is separated from the associated gases, then compressed and cooled to liquid form, transported via pipeline to the well–head, and then injected into a deep suitable geological formation for long-term storage.

Carbon dioxide emissions have been identified as a major cause of enhanced greenhouse gas effects leading to global warming.  To minimise further increases in the rate of global warming, the need to drastically reduce CO2 emissions has been identified.  By capturing the CO2 from the gasification process and storing it underground, where it was previously stored as carbon in the coal, greatly reduces the additional CO2 added to the atmosphere. 

The oil and gas industries have been capturing carbon dioxide and transporting it in pipelines for a number of years, with subsequent injection into mature oil reservoirs to increase oil production.

Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF)
Led by 21 nations and the European Commission, the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF) was formed in 2003.  The Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum is a voluntary climate initiative of developed and developing nations formed to enable early reduction and steady elimination of large-source greenhouse gas emissions.  

Its 22 members, which produce approximately three-quarters of world emissions, cooperate and collaborate in technology development and demonstration projects.  Forum membership spans the world's largest blocks of economic activity, including the North America Free Trade Area, the European Union and the leading economies of Asia.
Members are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

WWF
The WWF has joined some of the world's leading environment proponents in calling for the rapid deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration plants.  WWF's position is supported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, NASA scientist Dr James Hansen, environment groups such as the Climate Institute and PEW Centre, pre-eminent research centres, and the vast majority of Governments.