On 22 June 2023, the Senate referred the provisions of the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Amendment (Using New Technologies to Fight Climate Change) Bill 2023 to the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 27 July 2023.

The closing date for submissions is 6 July 2023.


About this inquiry:
The bill seeks to amend the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981 (Sea Dumping Act) to give effect to Australia’s international obligations arising out of the 2009 and 2013 amendments to the London Protocol. The Sea Dumping Act regulates activities such as the loading and dumping of waste at sea. The proposed amendments to the Sea Dumping Act would enable the granting of permits for the export of carbon dioxide streams from carbon dioxide capture processes for the purpose of sequestration into a sub-seabed geological formation, and allow for the placement of wastes or other matter for a marine geoengineering activity for scientific research.