A settlement has been reached in a court case over Glencore's plan to store carbon dioxide in the Great Artesian Basin. 

The federal government and Glencore were set to face AgForce in the Federal Court over the carbon capture and storage (CCS) scheme, blocked by a Queensland government ban announced earlier this year.

AgForce had challenged Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's 2022 decision to exclude Glencore's project from assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act. 

The CTSCo project aimed to inject 330,000 tonnes of food-grade carbon dioxide into a deep aquifer in the basin. 

The Queensland government's ban in May halted the project, citing environmental concerns.

AgForce chief executive Michael Guerin this week confirmed the settlement had been reached before a Federal Court hearing in Brisbane. 

Details have not been disclosed, but Guerin called for federal legislation to protect the water source, serving over 180,000 people across inland Australia.

“Full protection will come from federal legislation that outlaws pumping industrial waste into the Great Artesian Basin,” Mr Guerin said.

Initially, the case involved AgForce and the federal government, with Glencore joining as a co-respondent. Glencore stated it would not seek to recover legal costs. 

The company had invested over 10 years and $50 million into the CTSCo project to explore geological storage of carbon dioxide in the Surat Basin.

“The recent Queensland government decision to legislate a ban on CCS in the Great Artesian Basin has been driven by politics and has little regard for respected scientific evidence,” Glencore stated. 

“If CCS is not available as an abatement option, it will have far-reaching ramifications for the resources sector.”

Mr Guerin noted the legal process gave AgForce access to previously unavailable documents and information. 

“The documentation shows a complete inadequacy of the federal government consideration to that proposal,” he said. 

“We will use this understanding to advocate for federal policy change.”