Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
12/5/2014
Carbon capture and storage must continue to be acknowledged and incentives for the development and deployment of the technology must be present within the post-Kyoto global climate treaty planned to be signed next year in Paris, the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), said in a document released last week. The UNECE is a regional commission under the direction of the United Nations consisting of 56 member states including, outside of Europe, the United States and Canada. In a press release announcing UNECE’s recommendations, the group noted CCS’s prominent presence in many climate mitigation scenarios, such as those presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “The IPCCC Fifth Assessment Synthesis Report highlights that without CCS the cost of climate mitigation would increase by 138 [percent]. CCS therefore has a vital role to play as part of an economically sustainable route to deep emissions cuts. UNECE stands ready to develop and promote international standards required for the efficient achievement of CCS and CCUS,” UNECE Executive Secretary, Christian Friis Bach, said in the release.
Noting the importance of CCS in staying below the target 2°C limit in global temperature rise, the UNECE makes several recommendations concerning CCS, such as calling for incentives within governments to develop CCS technologies and elimination of policies that would restrict the use of CCS, such as “legislation that imposes excessive long-term liabilities for storage operators following cessation of operations.” The group also notes that CCS is currently recognized within the Kyoto Protocol as an environmentally sound practice and should keep that distinction in the next climate agreement making it eligible for funding through various programs including the Green Climate Fund.
Currently, in many areas CCS is not treated equally to other low- and no-carbon technologies with regard to policy and funding opportunities, the group calls for this situation to be remedied. “It is critical that national and international policies on CCS/CCUS activities have parity with other no carbon/low carbon technologies regarding their climate mitigation potential commensurate with the state of technological and infrastructure development,” the document says.
The group also calls for an increase in global CCS demonstration projects. “CCS/CCUS deployment will accelerate if governments work together to financially sponsor demonstration projects. An international agreement should allow for and encourage joint venture projects, particularly between developed and developing nations. A framework should be established to recognize these projects and prescribe how a sharing of benefits can be achieved,” the document says. An emphasis is also placed on knowledge sharing. The document also states that investments must be made in developing countries through direct investment, development assistance efforts, sharing emissions credits and recognizing the role of both regional development banks and the World Bank Group in financing projects.
Further, UNECE calls for increased attention to the deployment of CCS on industrial sources. “A post-Kyoto international agreement must recognize that capturing and storing CO2 from all industrial sectors will be essential to reach climate goals. Cement, steel, chemicals, refining and transportation are among many sectors that must be addressed in a manner similar to how energy production, transportation, distribution and utilization are addressed and in a way that assuages concerns about effects on international competitiveness,” the document says.
