Industrialized societies which continue to use fossil fuel energy sources are considering adoption of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to meet carbon emission reduction targets. Deep geological storage of CO2 onshore faces opposition regarding potential health effects of CO2 leakage from storage sites. There is no experience of commercial scale CCS with which to verify predicted risks of engineered storage failure. Studying risk from natural CO2 seeps can guide assessment of potential health risks from leaking onshore CO2 stores.

The EU and the United States are pursuing ambitious goals in the use of CCS technology. But there are still almost no pilot projects, and cost-effectiveness remains a big question mark.

In May 2011, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented its report on potential of renewable energy (RE) which emphasizes

There are more cows than people here in Nirranda South, three hours south-west of Melbourne, making it the perfect spot to test a technology that remains hugely controversial. I am at a facility run by Australia's Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC). If anyone can convince the public that carbon capture and storage can reliably reduce carbon dioxide emissions it's these guys. Even Friends of the Earth, Australia - which opposes the approach - has grudging respect for the research done here.