CARBON CAPTURE IS A SCAM
Extinction Rebellion Australia, 25 Feb 2026
Courageous protesters confronted Resources Minister Madeline King during her keynote speech at the Carbon Capture and Storage Conference in Melbourne this week.
Inside the conference, physicist Dr Lincoln Turner stepped to the front and interrupted Minister King, saying:
“After decades of development and billions invested, carbon capture and storage has sequestered less than 0.1% of emissions to date. 82 per cent of carbon dioxide sequestered so far has been for producing more fossil fuels. Minister, isn’t CCS a gas industry scam?”
Shortly afterwards, Dr Richard Barnes spoke up from the back. He said:
“Minister, CCS really is a scam, isn’t it? A lie, a fraud, a ruse, a con to give cover to the continuing extraction of gas – a fossil fuel – destroying the planet”
The protesters both unfurled small banners with the message “CCS is a scam” before being removed from the conference by security guards.
CCS is a failed technology promoted by the gas industry, which, instead of containing emissions, only prolongs a dangerous and polluting business model, further fuelling the climate crisis. The protest was staged to highlight the folly of supporting a failed technology that has captured only minuscule gas emissions from a highly polluting industry. Meanwhile, new gas projects are being approved by the government, and emissions are continually rising.
Protestors outside the conference chanted and held banners and signs to express their dismay and anger at Labor’s betrayal – despite its promises to meet emissions targets and honour international climate agreements. The government is failing, just like CCS technology.
Spokesperson for the group Leigh Naunton from Beyond Gas Network said:
“Minister King’s promotion of CCS is total madness. It shows the Albanese government is still caving in to gas lobby pressure. When will our leaders take the climate crisis seriously and invest in real solutions?
“The Labor government promised to act meaningfully on the climate crisis, instead they are supporting the failed technology of CCS – just a greenwashing scam promoted by gas companies – and enabling more fossil fuel extraction by approving new gas projects. They are two-faced, investing in renewable energy but supporting fossil fuels. They should be restoring and protecting the environment, not caving into pressure from vested interests.
“By promoting CCS, Minister King is doing the work of companies like Woodside and Santos. She comes from a long line of Resources Ministers, like Martin Ferguson, who have sold out to the mining and fossil fuel industries, and set Australia up for a dangerous and uncertain future as the climate crisis worsens.”
“The science is clear – we need to move away from fossil fuels like gas and take the climate crisis seriously.”
“Huge claims and predictions are constantly made about the success of CCS, but even a cursory look at actual projects shows a litany of failure.” See the article by Ebony Bennett on the Australia Institute website Carbon capture and storage is a dangerous rort (originally published in the Canberra Times)