This Conference in Bergen on Fighting Climate Change with Carbon Capture and Storage has taken place at a critical juncture in the process leading up the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Our explicit purpose has been to advance knowledge and common understanding of CCS. Our ambition is to make Bergen a part of the road to Copenhagen
Many high-level policymakers, including heads of government and cabinet ministers, as well as representatives of the research community, international organizations and industry took part. This broad participation demonstrated the importance of implementing CCS as a part of the solution to fight climate change.
We agreed on the need for ambitious and substantial cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions. We stressed the need to focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as low emission technologies.
The world’s consumption of energy will depend on fossil fuels in many years to come. We therefore need to consentrate on reducing emissions from fossil fuel consumption. As repeatedly stated by the IPCC, this is why the solution of CCS is so critical.
Carbon capture and storage has an enormous potential for global emission reductions, as stated by Dr. Pachauri to the Conference. At present, no other technology has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants. CCS is one of the key technologies to mitigate CO2 emissions, as stated by IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka.
We need much greater activity on CCS globally than we see today.
In the future, no new fossil power plants should be built unless they include carbon capture and storage.
High-level participants visited Norway’s Sleipner Project in the North Sea, which has been operating since 1996. Leaders expressed that carbon capture and storage technologies related to separation and subsequent CO2 storage in geological formations are available and have been proven under full scale operational conditions for more than a decade.
Reference was also made to other full-scale and operational projects such as the Weyburn Project in Canada, the In Salah Project in Algeria and the Snøhvit Project in Norway. There are also a number of pilots in operation or under development in the European Union, in North America and in other regions which will provide important steps forward in making carbon capture and storage a commercially attractive mitigation option.
Eight key messages can be retained from this conference:
1. A comprehensive approach to reduce CO2 emissions must include CCS
There is wide acknowledgment that we need to move forward with a suite of options, including CCS as a key climate technology.
Deployment of new technologies, including CCS, will depend on public confidence. Strong political leadership is necessary to build confidence about safety and environmental impact and to generate public support.
2. Sustainable economic growth is possible, CCS is a key step in the transition to a low-emission society
We discussed some of the big challenges before us; how do we decouple economic growth and emissions growth; how can we combine the global need for growth with less greenhouse gas emissions and damages to the environment. This is a dilemma only if we continue using the same old technologies and continuing with the same lifestyles and mindsets as today.
We discussed the impact of the financial crisis on investments in green technologies. We need to focus on the opportunities. Several speakers stressed that countries have used part of their stimulus packages to facilitate the transition to a greener economy. We need a better analysis of the measures taken in the many different stimulus packages.
The messages from the World Commission on Environment and Development chaired by Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland remain valid, that sustainable development is possible. The challenges have become more urgent, and we agree that a transition to a low-emission society is both necessary and feasible. We still need to introduce system-wide incentives that can promote a change in investment, production and consumption patterns.
3. More large scale demonstration plants, more R & D and a major scaling up of present CCS efforts are needed
We stressed that public financing is particularly important for research and development and pilot plants. Efforts to further develop and deploy CCS technologies are showing encouraging progress, but cooperation on large-scale plants need to be further intensified. Major CO2 emission points from the industrial sector, including cement, steel and chemicals should also be included.
4. Stimulating framework conditions are necessary to encourage wide-scale capture and storage of CO2
We need to further develop and implement legal and regulatory frameworks to encourage CCS. There has been much progress on such frameworks, but more needs to be done to ensure implementation and wider advancement of public health, safety, liability and financing issues.
5. Transport and storage projects must minimise risks of negative impacts on the environment, health and safety
It is critical that a broad deployment of carbon capture corresponds with the global storage capacity. Not all countries may have access to suitable storage formations within their own territory. International cooperation should be strengthened to facilitate such access and current barriers should be lifted. Proposals for further amendments to the London Protocol have been submitted to this effect. It will be considered for adoption at the meeting of contracting parties to the London Protocol taking place in October this year. Amendments in the OSPAR Convention should be ratified by all signatories.
Proper site selection, environmental impact assessment, monitoring and remediation plans are important to ensure that storage is environmentally safe. Several examples of both national and multilateral adoption of legally binding guidelines for CCS transport and storage have been highlighted. There are concrete preparations for broad deployment of CCS.
6. Private sector companies have a particular role to make CCS commercially viable
Stronger financial incentives are needed for CCS development. Barriers to scaling up efforts, including financial and expanding international cooperation, must be removed.
One of the most important commercial incentives will be an adequate price on carbon.
The private sector, including producers of fossil energy, manufacturing industry and others should accelerate efforts to make the technology commercially viable through an early market implementation on a global scale. Public-private partnerships are especially needed during a take-off stage. The private sector long-term profit opportunities should be demonstrated to attract private investments.
7. CCS must be accessible to developing countries
Developed countries must show the way to reduce CO2 emissions. Technology cooperation, capacity building and financial support must be part of a global solution. Energy poverty is an overriding challenge to many developing countries. CCS is therefore not a relevant option to all countries. Others are already undertaking action on CCS and are eager to partner with other countries to expand cooperation and learning. Opinions differ as to whether or not inclusion of CCS in the Clean Development Mechanism is important for the rollout of CCS in developing countries.
The international climate regime should strengthen the promotion of technology cooperation and partnerships so as to make CCS accessible to developing countries. Such partnerships are already being developed through bilateral programmes and through institutions like IEA, the Carbon Sequestration Leaderships Forum (CSLF) and the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI) in Australia, but need to be enhanced.
8. From Bergen to Copenhagen
Bergen is an essential step on the road towards Copenhagen. The Bergen summary will be fed into the following processes:
- The UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 is a golden opportunity to explicitly include CCS as a key climate mitigation technology. Copenhagen provides an opportunity for CCS that should not be missed. Funding mechanisms for demonstration of CCS and other mitigation technologies – allowing i.a. for global awareness raising and specific capacity building for interested countries are needed.
- The International Energy Agency has by means of its side-event to the high-level conference in Bergen provided the G8 with a peer review on criteria and stock taking on the goal of launching 20 large scale CCS demonstration projects before 2010. The result of the peer review will provide valuable information to the delegates in Copenhagen.
- The World Bank and other multilateral institutions have emphasized their interest to provide financial support for CCS. Support to the establishment of financial mechanisms for capacity building and investments have been expressed by many delegates.
- The CSLF (Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum) will follow up on messages from the Bergen conference at its ministerial meeting in the UK in October 2009. In particular, this will be a time to launch the IEA international CCS roadmap and the new CSLF strategic plan and new technology road map which will provide key messages, policy actions and milestones for CCS.
At this conference, very encouraging examples of planned and ongoing research projects, test centers, demonstration plants, legislation and regulation for transport and storage, financial support etc. have been highlighted.
As Dr. Pachauri stated, we share an enormous sense of urgency on climate change. This conference has been a broad political manifestation that we have to speed up the work for development and deployment of carbon capture and storage as a key part of our response.