Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has launched the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute in Canberra. The Institute is being established by the government to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology globally and the sharing of information. It has already received international support with 85 bodies, including 16 national governments and more than 40 major companies, signing on as foundation members and collaborating participants.

More members are expected to join by July 1, 2009 when the Institute will become a separate legal entity. The GCCSI is an important part of the Australian government’s response to the environmental and economic challenge of climate change.

The government’s climate change strategy is designed to reduce our carbon pollution, adapt to the impact of climate change we cannot avoid and help shape a global solution.

The Australian government believes that carbon capture and storage has the potential to play an important role in the global transition to a low carbon economy.

The Institute is an initiative to help drive global cooperation on CCS projects and technologies.

It will help shape an international solution to climate change by building momentum for the deployment of CCS technology.

It will make an important contribution reducing the level of carbon pollution in Australia by advancing technology that will capture and store emissions.

It will also play a key role – along with the International Energy Agency and the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum – in achieving the G8 group’s goal of the broad deployment of CCS technology by 2020.

The government announced the Institute in September 2008 with annual funding of up to $100 million to accelerate the deployment of commercial scale CCS projects globally.

The government appointed Nick Otter as interim chief executive officer and recently appointed James D. Wolfensohn to the position of chair of the International Advisory Panel of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.

Participants of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute are:

Foundation Members:

The government of Australia, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the government of Canada, European Commission, the government of France, the government of Germany, the government of Indonesia, the government of Italy, the government of Japan, the government of the Republic of Korea, the government of Mexico, the Government of Netherlands, the government of New Zealand, the government of Norway, the government of Papua New Guinea, the government of South Africa, the government of United Kingdom, the government of United States of America, the state government of New South Wales, the state government of Queensland, the state government of South Australia, the state government of Victoria and the state government of Western Australia.

Aan Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation

Alstom Power Ltd, AMEC Plc, Anglo American Services (UK) Limited, ARUP Pty Ltd, BHP Billiton, BP Australia Pty Ltd, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, Chiyoda Corporation, Doosan Babcock Energy Limited, The Dow Chemical Company, ENEL, Exxon Mobil Australia Pty Ltd, General Electric International Inc, Greenhouse Gas Storage Solutions (GGSS), Hitachi Corporation, Hydrogen Energy International Limited, INPEX Corporation, Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Corp, Nippon Steel Engineering Co. Ltd, Macquarie Capital Advisers Ltd, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co Ltd, Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia Pty Ltd, Peabody Pacific Pty Ltd, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Rio Tinto Ltd, RWE Power AG, Santos Limited, Senergy Alternate Energy Ltd, Services Petroliers Schlumberger, Shell International Petroleum Company Ltd, Southern States Energy Board (US), StatoilHydro ASA, Taisei Construction Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Total E&P, TRUenergy Development Pty Ltd, Woodside Energy Ltd, Worley Parsons Services Pty Ltd, Xstrata Coal Pty Ltd, ZEEP Australia Pty Ltd, Australian Coal Association, Carbon Capture and Storage Association, Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), The Clinton Foundation, Glowny Instytut Gornictwa (Poland), Japanese Coal Energy Center (JCOAL), National Low Emissions Coal Research and Development Ltd (Australia), Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE, Japan) and South African National Energy Research Institute (SANERI).

The Climate Group

Underground Coal Gasification Association, University College of London

World Coal Institute, Collaborating Participants, International Energy Agency

the World Bank, the government of the Peoples Republic of China and

China Huaneng Group.