Greenpeace rejects carbon capture funding

Environment group Greenpeace says governments are wasting public money on carbon capture and storage (CCS) research. Carbon capture and storage is the process through which emissions from power stations would be captured and then stored underground to reduce carbon pollution. The Victorian and federal governments have invested millions of dollars into CCS research. However, Greenpeace says the collapse of CCS projects overseas and in Australia shows the technology is commercially unviable. Julian Vincent of Greenpeace says governments are paying an unfair share of the research bill because the coal power industry is unwilling to invest. He says taxpayer money would be better spent on renewable energy projects such as solar and wind.

"We need technologies, we need solutions that are on the table, that can be implemented in the next few years, if not already," he said.