The CDM allows developed countries to offset their CO2 emissions by funding CO2 emission reducing projects in developing countries.

During the UNFCCC Climate Talks, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) – one of two permanent subsidiary bodies to the Conference of the Parties (COP) – decided to postpone the role of CCS in the CDM until further consideration at COP16 next December in Mexico.

A text released by the SBSTA explained that despite lobbying efforts by different countries, others expressed concerns over issues such as “the long-term liability for the storage site, including liability for any seepage.”

The text further invited the UNFCCC’s scientific advisory body to investigate risk of seepage from storage sites and liability issues in the event of leakage and report back to delegates at the next conference.

“The inclusion of CCS in the CDM was fairly unrealistic from the outset. However, CCS was bracketed and kept within the draft text until the final stages of the negotiations. This reflects the fact that there is a going acceptance of CCS as part of the solution to climate change, both by the developed and the developing world. Unresolved issues such as financing or liability must now be addressed in in preparation for COP16 in December 2010,” says Bellona’s Svend Søyland, echoing comments to Bellona Web by International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) chief Rajendra Pachauri while he was in Copenhagen last month to push CCS.