CCS financing a key issue for Durban
Ecoal, Vol. 76, November 2011
One of the celebrated achievements of last year's climate negotiations in Cancun was the agreement, in principle, to include carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Inclusion in the CDM would open up a potential new source of financing for CCS in developing countries as these projects could generate carbon credits to be sold on international markets.
Inclusion of CCS in the CDM has been hotly debated for many years with a number of parties stalling the process due to concerns about its potential to lock in the use of fossil fuels in developing economies and distort the CDM market. The milestone decision in Cancun however recognised the role that CCS can play in mitigating climate change and agreed to its inclusion in the CDM subject to the development of a set of rules, known as modalities and procedures, to deal with some of the perceived concerns and technical issues.
Early in 2011 a number of countries and other interested organisations made submissions to the UNFCCC Secretariat on what should be included in the new rules for CCS in the CDM. A workshop to help develop those rules was recently held in Abu Dhabi. The workshop was a major step forward in dealing with technical issues relating to the inclusion of CCS in the CDM such as how to deal with issues like accidental leakage of CO2, environmental impact assessments and project governance arrangements.
Despite some lingering opposition from a small number of countries and Greenpeace, the overwhelming sense of the workshop recognised that CCS is an essential technology if the world is going to meet its emissions reduction targets. It also recognised that allowing these projects to be included in the CDM would facilitate its deployment. Importantly, contrary to concerns raised by some that CCS technology is not ready for deployment, the workshop highlighted increasing recognition that the primary barrier to deployment is economic, rather than technical. This emphasises the importance of securing financing mechanisms such as the CDM to increase the potential for future deployment of CCS.
When climate negotiators meet again for the next major round of talks in November and December in Durban, South Africa, the UNFCCC Secretariat will have developed a draft set of rules for the inclusion of CCS in the CDM. These draft rules will be the focus of negotiations, but it was clear from the Abu Dhabi workshop that the outstanding issues raised by some parties at least year's conference in Cancun, can easily be addressed. It will be important that negotiations do not get bogged down in politics, but recognise the role CCS can play in mitigating emissions and supporting the deployment of clean energy in developing countries.
With the significant development challenges facing Africa and Asia, treating action on climate change and sustainable development as integrated priorities is essential. Both these continents have access to significant coal reserves and including CCS in the CDM will help support the deployment of cleaner coal technologies and bring energy to those who need it most.
