News
Publish date: May 13, 2011
News
Three years ago the European Union (EU) pledged to become a leader in CO2 capture and storage (CCS), a technology which captures CO2 from power plants, refineries and other industrial facilities and stores it deep underground. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has calculated that CCS technology could account for one fifth of all CO2 mitigation needed by 2050 and half of all CO2 mitigation by 2100. The IEA has also said that without CCS the cost of responding to climate change will be 70% higher.
The EU set itself a goal to have 10-12 large scale CCS projects in operation around Europe by 2015, an extraordinary endeavor given that there are no major facilities operating anywhere in the world today.
CCS is an essential technology for a lower carbon, clean energy future. The EU has established a fund worth €5 billion (the NER300) as part of the European Emissions Trading Scheme and 9th May 2011 marks a crucial milestone in moving CCS from concept to reality with countries across Europe submitting applications for funding of proposed CCS plants.
Efforts by the European Union thus far are to be applauded but much remains to be done. CCS in Europe will fail if Member States do not deliver the essential regulatory and financial support needed. This support needs to be delivered fast.
Major issues remain to be resolved. These include the implementation of the EU Directive on Geological Storage of CO2 (before a deadline of June 2011) as well as completion of national CCS legal frameworks which will enable the approval of permit applications for CCS demonstration projects.
The NER 300 funding programme for CCS is important but more funds need to be committed in order to progress this vital technology. CCS demonstration projects are unlikely to generate sufficient revenue so Member State intervention and support is essential as these plants scale up to commercial size.
And delivering this first wave of CCS projects is only the beginning. Future research into the full family of CCS technologies remains a priority, together with a clear progamme of international knowledge sharing. Neither of these requirements is in place today, despite repeated calls from industry to see them materialize.
Finally and most importantly, there is an acute need to win over public support for CCS. Without the support of local communities where CCS projects will be built, progress will not be possible.
While the EU was indisputably first out of the gate in launching a CCS demonstration programme of substantial size and importance, it will only be able to ensure it crosses the finish line if appropriate CCS legislation is in place, funding is delivered and international cooperation is fully engrained in the development of CCS in Europe.
CCS provides one of the most cost effective ways to respond to climate change. There is no downside to capturing more CO2 sooner rather than later. There is no second chance at this, and time is running out.
The companies, scientists, academics and environmental NGOs that together make up the Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP) are united in their support for CCS as a critical solution for combating climate change. ZEP is an advisor to the EU on the research, demonstration and deployment of CCS.
Recent attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war," the UN atomic agency's director general said last week.
After years of inaction, Germany is working on its Carbon Management Strategy to resolve how CCS can play a role in climate action in industry. At the end of February, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action published first key points and a proposal to amend the law Kohlenstoffdioxid Speicherungsgesetz (KSpG). Bellona Deutschland, who was actively involved in the previous stakeholder dialogue submitted a statement in the association hearing.
In the midst of a global discussion on whether natural gas should be used as a transitional fuel and whether emissions from its extraction, production, transport and use are significantly less than those from other fossil fuels, Russia has developed ambitious plans to increase its own production of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the Arctic – a region with 75% of proven gas reserves in Russia – to raise its share in the international gas trade.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our main focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution risks and climate change.