Scottish Carbon Capture & Storage (SCCS) launched the report, "Unlocking North Sea CO2 Storage for Europe", at a special gathering of European Union politicians and policy makers in Brussels, ahead of a European Parliament debate on the future of EU CCS policy. It comes one week after EU climate change ministers set out their vision for a low-carbon economy.
The report recommends a combination of practical actions and policy incentives for the next five years. If taken, these efforts will validate many gigatonnes of CO2 storage capacity needed by Europe’s power and industry sectors, and build a strong business case for attracting investment in a carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry. In particular, governments around the North Sea are urged to develop a shared CO2 storage infrastructure.
The report’s five-year action framework drew on the results of a conference of leading European CCS experts held in Edinburgh in September 2013.
The report’s release coincides with a meeting of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, which is debating proposals urging Member States to revitalise and strengthen their support for CCS. These include an EU-wide target to capture and store 10 million tonnes of CO2 each year by 2020, and undertaking projects to validate storage sites –supported by a robust mechanism for ensuring CO2 clean-up at power plants and industrial facilities, such as a CCS certificates on hydrocarbon production or imports.
"The deployment of CCS on industrial CO2 sources and power generation is essential if Europe is to meet its long-term climate change objectives, retain jobs and improve low-carbon competitiveness," said Prof Stuart Haszeldine, SCCS Director. "But CCS is impossible without the availability of CO2 storage. The recommendations set out in our report identify how Europe can unlock the North Sea as a shared CO2 storage resource."
Key reccommendations from the report are:
Recommendation 1: A strategic vision for CCS in 2030
Position CCS for deployment sufficient for EU industrial emissions and power generation
Ensure CCS is explicitly addressed in the EU’s 2030 framework for climate and energy policy, and in line with emissions reductions required across the economy by 2050.
Recommendation 2: Policies and incentives that drive investment
Incentivise CCS through ‘sticks’ and ‘carrots’ applied to fossil fuel producers
Targeted policy and financial incentives to engage industry and the oil and gas sector as the key delivery agents for CO2 storage at commercial scale.
Recommendation 3: Sourcing low-cost CO2
Accelerate CCS by sourcing high-purity CO2 captured from industry
Utilise available industrial sources of high-purity CO2 in pre-commercial test injection projects to prove storage assets and de-risk long-term CCS operations.
Recommendation 4: The transport link in the chain
Advance CCS by developing CO2 infrastructure as Projects of Common Interest
A specific European Commission call for CO2 transport projects during 2014 as a means of supporting the characterisation of North Sea storage sites.
Recommendation 5: Establishing CO2 storage for Europe
Validate North Sea storage capacity through six early projects
A five-year focus on delivering six pre-commercial operational CO2 storage sites to validate a variety of storage options and prove at least 1 to 2 gigatonnes of bankable storage capacity.
Recommendation 6: empowering North Sea cooperation
Support CCS efforts by reinvigorating government and industry collaboration
Revitalise and empower the North Sea Basin Task Force as a forum for strategic collaboration, to secure Projects of Common Interest and a supportive EU policy framework.