Combet tells Greens "tough luck'' on coal's future

Australian Greens opposed to CCS.

Long-time Greens Senator Christine Milne said that while she was not happy with every part of the package, the Greens party was largely pleased that the package would provide the incentives to help the renewable energy sector find its feet.

One technology which could be funded under the package was carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which was researched and much-touted by the Australia coal industry. However, the technology, which formed the basis of Central Queensland's ZeroGen project fall-over in late 2010 due to lack of investment, has largely been discredited. “Clearly the CCS technology is simply a pipe dream, and the lack of investment is clear from Treasury modelling and the coal industry's own lack of investment in the technology,” Senator Milne said.