Carbon capture vital for carbon mitigation

The first ever Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) was held last week in Washington DC bringing together ministers and stakeholders from over 20 countries to discuss clean energy technologies. At the meeting Chris Huhne, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, disclosed that the UK would host the next conference:

"At this meeting I have been working together with governments and industry to accelerate the development of all types of low carbon energy. We are keen to work together through the Clean Energy Ministerial process for years to come and are looking forward to hosting the event in early 2012."

At the meeting a new Carbon Capture Use and Storage Action Group (CCUS) was established to assist governments and businesses with the development of carbon capture technology. The group will be led by the UK and Australia and aims to bring together governments so that they can coordinate efforts; collaborating countries include Canada, China and the United States. Huhne said:

"Today the UK and Australia are launching a new action group with other countries and businesses to help overcome barriers to developing carbon capture use and storage - a technology which could support millions of jobs worldwide."

It is imperative that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology is developed to enable the mitigation of greenhouse gases. The UK already has four CCS projects planned throughout the country but the challenge remains to ascertain the regulations and incentive structures necessary to drive new CCS technology forward. It is acknowledged by those countries involved that CCS is an important factor in carbon mitigation and must be considered alongside renewables and improved energy efficiency. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has asserted that by 2050 around a fifth of mitigation must come from CCS and that subsequently 100 projects must be effective by 2020.

US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu expressed his support of the newly formed CCUS and believes that the group would help bring together governments, businesses and stakeholders to partake in regular discussion about plans to drive CCS forward and concerning the advancement of the technologies involved in its deployment by 2020.

The Ministerial has brought to light important issues regarding renewable energies, energy efficiency and most importantly the development of CCS technology. Hopefully the commencement of both the bi-annual CEM and the CCUS will help the deployment of CCS and other green technologies and preventing climate change has manifold benefits. As Huhne asserts: "Cleaning up our energy won't just help prevent dangerous climate change but also provides us with a big opportunity for industry, jobs and prosperity."

 

Author: Rachael Bristow | Climate Action

Image: David Spender | Flickr