Worldwide CO2 emissions, new solutions

Capture the CO₂

To prevent climate change from reaching catastrophic proportions during this century, scientists warn that by 2050 we must reduce at least by half the levels of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases recorded in 1990.
More efficient use of energy and the production of clean “energy “from renewable sources such as solar and wind power are the main political priorities of Europe in achieving these reductions.

However, it is almost certain that fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas continue to play an important role in the production of electricity beginning in the first half of this century, both in Europe and globally. New technologies are therefore needed to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by such sources.

This is a particularly important issue given that global energy demand is expected to double by 2050. At present, the production of electricity from fossil fuels is responsible for approximately one third of European emissions of CO₂.

Curb emissions at the source

There are promising technologies for reducing emissions of CO₂ from fossil fuels. One of them is the capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CCS).

This process involves the capture of CO₂ produced during combustion of fossil fuels, its transportation to a suitable place and finally its injection underground to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. The geological formations suitable for this purpose include former oil and gas fields, non-exploited coal seams and aquifers.

Storing CO₂, a new solution

Storing CO₂ deep underground has been taking place for over ten years in various parts of the world, particularly in the oil and gas fields. In Europe, the Sleipner project managed by the Norwegian company Statoil has stored approximately 10 million tonnes of CO₂ under the North Sea since 1996. Among other large scale projects, are the In Salah project operated by BP and Statoil in Algeria as well as the Weyburn project in Canada.

If the individual components of the CCS process (capture, transport and storage of CO₂) are well understood and already in operation, the challenge remains in combining these elements into a fully integrated and commercially available technology. A number of CCS technologies have been developed for this purpose, for use in the electricity sector. Europe's objective is to have 12 CCS pilot plants in full operation by 2015 and make this technology commercially viable by 2020.

The geological storage sites should be managed in a secure manner to prevent the escape of injected CO₂. To do this, they will select the most suitable sites and establish very strict conditions for operation, maintenance and control. These conditions are outlined in a legislative proposal aiming at encouraging the safe use of the CCS, presented by the European Commission in January 2008.

The situation in the East, collaboration with China

Given the current and future growth of global energy demand (particularly from fossil fuels), the CCS must play an international role. The rapid development of emerging economies, such as China and India, is accompanied by a sharp increase in energy demand and CO₂ emissions. According to recent estimates, China builds an average of two large coal-fired plants every week, each of which produces CO₂ emissions equivalent to that of two million cars.

The CCS provides a means for reducing these emissions, which is why the European Union is working with China to develop CCS and other clean technologies. This cooperation initiative for a coal plant with Near Zero Emissions Carbon (NZEC) –in other words, the research, development and deployment of clean technologies in the fields of coal and CCS appear to be essential to the EU-China Partnership established in 2005, regarding Climate Change. The main objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of NZEC technology in China and within the European Union.

Under this initiative, a demonstrative power plant with NZEC will be built in China by 2020, and the initial phase of this project is already underway.

Source : European Commission