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Global Challenges and Cross Cutting Issues in CO2

Capture and Storage

Saroja Asthana

National Chemical Laboratory, Pune

sr.asthana@ncl.res.in

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Introduction

•Greenhouse Gases are mainly responsible for climate change

•Main source of GHG – fossil fuel

•IEA established R&D in 1991

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Introduction Contd…

Research now focuses on:•Identification of gaps in knowledge in

•technical aspects vis-a-vis•non-technical aspects of CCS

•The objective is to propose practical recommendations.

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Introduction Contd…

•Technical issues are related to practicability and availability of resources.

•Non technical issues are basically Legal, Economical and Social.

•Paper attempts mainly to discuss cross cutting issues on non technical issues.

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Legal issues

•Main gaps appear in relation to the domestic laws of countries.•Example: Clarification required on several provisions in the marine protection treaties •Another issue is the pre requisites for site-selection and long-term monitoring for storage of CO2.

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Economic & Social issues

•Apparently no major economic barrier although it appears that the first model uses low values for the costs of CCS. •Social and acceptability issues are mainly related to the awareness and the outlook of stakeholders such as NGOs.

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As there are global issues associated with CSS, it is important to see it in prospective of global treaties.

Global Treaties

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The London Convention 1972

•Purpose is to control the input of substances into the sea.

•It administers a ‘blacklist’ of substances, the dumping of which is prohibited, and a ‘reverse list’ containing substances which may be conditionally dumped under strict control.

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Dumping is defined as ‘any deliberate disposal at sea of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea’, but does not include ‘placement for a purpose other than the mere disposal thereof, provided that such placement is not contrary to the aims of the Convention.’

The London Convention 1972 contd…

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Issues of London Convention

•CO2 is not specifically mentioned in either the blacklist (Annex 1) or reverse list but suggested to be classified as an “industrial waste”.

•This is ambiguous and can be interpreted differently.

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•Issue here is to find whether CO2 is under industrial waste or not ?

•Secondly, does CCS apply to Convention?

•What is definition of “Sea”?

Issues of London Convention Contd…

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•Disposal is not well defined but can be interpreted as the “action of permanently getting rid of a substance”.

•So, long-term storage of CO2 for the purpose of mitigating climate change does amount to disposal or not is not clear.

Issues of London Convention Contd…

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The London Protocol 1996

•In the London Convention (1996) ‘dumping’ reads as ‘any storage of wastes or other matter in the seabed and the subsoil thereof from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea’

•It expressly covers the seabed and subsoil

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• Sea dumping does not include pipeline discharges from land, operational discharges from vessels or offshore installations or placement.

• Apart from this, The London Protocol appears to prohibit the storage of CO2 both in the water column and in sub-seabed repositories

The London Protocol 1996 Contd…

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The OSPAR Convention 1992

•The Convention is established by 15 Northern European Member States and the European Community

•the most comprehensive and strict legal framework governing the marine environment

•All possible steps are taken by the Convention

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Inclusion of CCS in the Climate Policy Context International efforts by•UNFCCCsustainable management of GHG thrusinks and reservoirs •The Kyoto Protocolneed of more research•IPCCSpecial Report on CCS (2005) •CSLF

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IPCC (2005) Special Report on CSS

•Discussion on CSS held at COP11/MOP1 in Montreal. It was decided to hold a workshop on the issue.

•The CDM neither restricts nor encourages CCS and suggests that it must be evaluated as any other mitigation approach.

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Mitigation Costs

•As mitigation cost is an economic indicator it should be seen in totality.•It is costs to avoid a tonne of CO2 entering the atmosphere.•Increase in cost of electricity due to CSS should be considered.•Also, it needs to be compared with other mitigation options.

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Stakeholder Perceptions to CCS

Based on initial (Lee et al, 2004) focus groups conducted in 2001, the CO2 Capture Project (CCP) concluded that: ‘NGOs in general have a negative outlook on the issue, as they believe that CO2 storage will extend the usage of fossil fuels and divert resources from the development of renewable energy’

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Stakeholder Perceptions to CCS contd…

On the other hand, CCP argued that some NGOs were ‘developing a more positive opinion on CSS, realizing that a transition phase is likely to be needed before renewable energy can become more cost-effective and widely implemented’.

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Cross-cutting Issues of CCS

•The issue is whether CCS is really a bridging option to sustainable energy.•It depends on storage capacities and their proximity to point sources of CO2. •The extent of mitigation is also a topic of debate•Nuclear energy and renewable energy technologies that are low-carbon technologies are implicit competitor to CCS

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Cross-cutting Issues of CCS Contd…

•There are practical difficulties in geological storage as mapping techniques like seismic data collection and interpretation may not be effective in many areas due to a number of technical reasons.

•There are several gaps in IPCC Special Report on CCS (IPCC, 2005) and number of IEA studies (IEA, 2004; IEA, 2006)

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Cross-cutting Issues of CCS Contd…

•DS models use low values for the costs of CCS, which might result in an overestimation of the role of CCS in the mitigation.

The capital required upfront for investments in capture is large. This may tend to keep industries from deployment of CCS projects.

The use of CDM is still a regulatory gap.

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•Developing-country Parties in the climate negotiations are increasingly opposed against CCS in the CDM.

•Whereas fossil-fuel dependent developing countries view CCS as a natural option under the CDM

Cross-cutting Issues of CCS Contd…

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•CCS is not ready for market-based deployment, technology should be developed and tested in industrialized countries first, and only after that be implemented in developing countries.

•CCS will overwhelm the CDM market. However, CDM market will prefer CCS.

Cross-cutting Issues of CCS Contd…

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The G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany in June 2007 set out that to accelerate development and deployment of CCS, it is of utmost importance to prioritize national and international R&D efforts

Cross-cutting Issues of CCS Contd…

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•Global risks are linked to the possible escape of CO2 into the atmosphere from the geological storage reservoir, thereby counteracting the point of the storage exercise. •Further, action is needed to prevent and quantify the fugitive emissions that evolve over time.

Cross-cutting Issues of CCS Contd…

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Summary

•Incentives are needed due to weak market availability. •Legal and regulatory frameworks needs to be set. •The G8 focus on CCS adds a political imperative which is good for CSS deployment •Public awareness should be raised.

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•Clear responsibility for short and long-term liability and rewards to the initiative taker should be defined.

•Resource assessment for sources, sinks and infrastructure requirements and R&D technology advances through public/private partnerships are important.

Summary Contd…

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Thank you