NZ government plans to regulate carbon capture technologies—but who will be the regulating agency?

The government plans to regulate carbon capture technologies – but who will be the regulating agency?

New Zealand needs a legal arrangement that allows carbon capture and storage technologies to evolve without being a mere offshoot of the oil and gas industry.

NZ government plans to regulate carbon capture technologies—but who will be the regulating agency?

Newly released documents add more detail to the New Zealand government's plans for a regulatory framework to enable carbon capture and storage.

Indecision at the heart of carbon capture and storage plans

The government plans to regulate carbon capture technologies – but who will be the regulating agency?

The Carbon Capture Hypeline

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology represents the fossil fuel industry’s last stand. Hawking expensive, speculative technology to suck CO2 out of the air and store it underground — rather than transitioning away from fossil fuels — enables immensely profitable oil companies to continue business as usual while presenting themselves as part of the solution to the climate crisis. “This is not about transitioning away from oi…