The G8 industrial powers said yesterday they hoped to launch 20 large projects to bury greenhouse gas by 2010 and aimed to broadly deploy the technology a decade later.
G8 energy ministers, meeting in Japan, said in a statement that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which stops emissions at their root, played a “critical role” in “tackling the global challenge of climate change and energy security.”
The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based energy security body set up in 1974 after the first oil crisis, has recommended commercial use of the carbon dioxide-burying technology by 2020.
“We strongly support the recommendation that 20 large-scale CCS demonstration projects need to be launched globally by 2010 … with a view to supporting technology development and cost reduction for the beginning of broad deployment of CCS by 2020,” the statement said.
The G8 groups Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, Russia and the US. The G8 ministerial talks were later expanded here to include China, India and South Korea.
The 11-nation joint statement said they “will work towards the creation of an enabling environment for the broad deployment.”
But the idea of CCS is hotly debated, even among environmentalists.
Greenpeace, which published a report early last month titled False hope. Why carbon capture and storage won’t save the climate, is spearheading the opposition.
Its long list of complaints includes the argument that the method consumes a lot of energy, is expensive and there is the risk of leaks.
Specialists say the future of the method depends on its cost.
Carbon capture and storage currently costs around 60 euros (US$95) per avoided tonne of carbon dioxide.
But experts say that cost would have to be at least halved to make it a viable alternative to industries, which can buy carbon-dioxide emissions rights for about 25 euros per tonne.
The 11 countries, which together guzzle nearly two-thirds of the world’s energy, also voiced concern over record oil prices as Japan warned the world could plunge into recession.
“The 11 countries shared concern about the soaring crude oil prices,” Japanese Energy Minister Akira Amari, the host of the meeting, said, reading from a joint statement.
He said the countries also agreed to set up a new framework — called the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation — under which they can share ideas about how to save energy.
“If we leave this situation as it is, it could lead to a recession of the world economy,” Amari said earlier in his opening address.
“Ensuring energy security, including stability of the oil market, has become one of the top priorities for every country,” he said.
The meeting came after oil prices on Friday posted their highest ever one-day gain of nearly US$11, hitting a new record of US$138.54 a barrel in New York trade.
Oil prices have soared five-fold since 2003 due to a variety of factors including turbulence in the Middle East and rising demand in emerging economies such as China and India.
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