Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
9/25/2015
The European Union can support progress toward the deployment of carbon capture and storage by optimizing existing policies and resources, according to a report released this week by the Zero Emissions Platform, an advisory group to the European Commission on the subject.
The plan, developed by request of European Commission Vice President Maroš Šef?ovi?, describes “how the Commission can effectively and rapidly aid wide uptake of CCS in Europe; delivering additional CCS projects in power and industry; progressing the development of CCS hubs in Europe; and supporting the appraisal of storage capacity required for commercial CCS deployment,” according to a ZEP press release.
ZEP’s plan notes four areas that can be optimized to produce the desired result of the widespread adoption of CCS in Europe. First is a need to decouple the capture of CO2 from transport and storage operations. CCS should also be developed in phases by expanding infrastructure hubs. Furthermore, available funding mechanisms must be optimized and additional mechanisms to commercialize CCS must be created. Finally, EU member states must also be encouraged to include CCS in their national climate plans.
Decoupling CO2 capture efforts from transportation and storage efforts will encourage the use of capture for emitters as they will not need to take on the additional liability associated with those end of the line activities. “General understanding of geological storage is lacking among most of the emitters who wish to capture their CO2, and they are wary of liabilities. The business model and liability provisions for CO2 capture and CO2 transport/storage are very different. Hence, current incentives for power generators to capture CO2 will not stimulate market conditions for storage. Decoupling capture from transport and storage will address these issues,” according to the report.
The development of CCS hubs, large networks of emitters connected by existing and expanding transportation and storage infrastructure, will increase the efficiency of transportation and storage operations, according to ZEP. “This will enable economies of scale and the development of sustainable European industrial clusters,” the report says. “This approach significantly reduces risks associated with first-of-a-kind projects, assuming that confidence has been established in the availability of sufficient storage capacity through studies and timely appraisal of the capacity that has been targeted for early use.”
Within the EU, several funding opportunities for CCS exist. These should continue to promote investment and development of CCS projects, ZEP said. “The Commission can accelerate CCS progress by providing fit-for-purpose funding for CCS infrastructure development through the proposed Innovation and Energy Modernisation Funds, through regional and structural funds, through Horizon 2020 and through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF),” the report says,
Finally, member states should be encouraged to consider CCS development in the lead up to the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is hoped to strike a new global climate deal. During these negotiations, “the EU can demonstrate its commitment to deep CO2 emissions reductions by supporting CCS as an integral component of the EU’s future emissions reductions strategy,” the report suggests.
