Bellona’s recommendation to the UNFCCC can be downloaded as a PDF file from the box to the right. A summary of the recommendations is given below.

The IPCC regards CCS as one of the main strategies for reducing CO ₂ emissions and Bellona’s calculations show that CCS has a significant potential to cut global CO₂ emissions. The support for CCS activities is strong and increasing, as is the number of projects in planning. Efforts are underway to develop national and international rules and framework for CCS projects and a consistent effort to address the major unresolved regulatory issues related to CCS is required for the rapid implementation of the technology.

An internationally consistent guiding framework that addresses long term risks can facilitate a successful inclusion of CCS under the CDM. Instead of allowing the lack of regulatory framework to be a barrier for CCS under CDM, we believe the inclusion of CCS under CDM can contribute to accelerate the work with defining the proper regulatory framework, in particular in developing countries.

The IPCC target of 50-80% reduction in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 cannot be reached by energy efficiency and renewable energy alone and emission reductions in developing countries is urgent. It is therefore crucial that CCS technologies through the CDM become available to the developing countries. We also believe that CCS can have additional sustainable development benefits.

Critique against CCS is usually with reference to the safety of CO₂ storage. However, all scientific evidence show that CO₂ storage is safe provided careful site characterization and selection. Combining stringent site selection criteria and high-quality monitoring is thus pre-requisite for CCS projects implemented under the CDM.