Carbon Capture and Storage: A Mixed Review

Abstract

The overall tone of the report, titled “The Global Status of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): 2010,” released in March by the Global CCS Institute, is cautiously optimistic. “The global commitment to CCS remains strong,” according to the findings of the Australia-based institute, whose 287 members include major businesses, research organizations, and governments of top emitters, led by China, the US, Russia, and India. The report states that well over 200 CCS projects were active or planned worldwide at the end of 2010, a net rise of 26 from 2009. Of these, 77 are large-scale integrated projects at various stages of development. North America, Europe, and Australia are home to 87% of all projects, despite the largest global growth in energy usage—a major driver of human-generated CO2 release—expected outside these continents over the next few decades. The report cautions that “governments and industry are still in the early stages of implementing international programs to shorten the time-frame for the commercial deployment of CCS.” The current phase, likely to last more than a decade, focuses on demonstration programs that develop and improve capture applications and that prove safe and secure long-term CO2 storage. Despite major efforts like the EU Emissions Trading System, controlling or curtailing the release of CO2 remains a relatively low priority on a global basis. Nonetheless, CCS project development is currently largely being driven by government incentives across the globe. According to George J. Koperna Jr., vice president, Advanced Energy Resources, “The role of government in energizing the industry is terribly important.” The report cites as much as USD 40 billion in government funding that could be available to support the development of CCS demonstration projects over this decade. The Goal and Today’s Progress The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates the world’s average surface temperature will increase between 1.8°C and 4.0°C in the coming century. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), around 20% of the total greenhouse gas emission reductions necessary to help mitigate this increase by 2050 can be achieved through CCS.