If the UK is to meet ambitious carbon emission targets by 2050 Government must provide a clear road map for the widespread deployment of carbon capture and storage technology, a report published at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) today states.
CCS, the process of capturing carbon emission during the power generation process, has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 80 – 90 percent and has been identified as playing a key role in meeting the UK’s looming emissions targets. However progress has stalled in recent years with continued uncertainty about how CCS will be funded and lack of a coherent regulatory framework.
ICE’s report Carbon Capture and Storage – Time to Deliver outlines the steps needed to deliver CCS not only domestically but also on a global scale. The UK has the potential to be a world leader in CCS technology, creating a major export opportunity, but needs Government to provide a clear strategic overview to avoid unnecessary delays.
The ICE report features papers from six leading experts on different aspects of CCS including regulation, storage, transportation, investment, pre and post combustion alternatives and its role in creating a low carbon economy.
Speaking at the launch event, ICE Vice President Geoff French said:
“The UK was quick on the uptake in the global race to deploy CCS but now we have fallen behind other nations. If we want to keep a competitive lead and take advantage of the export opportunity it presents, progress needs to be greatly accelerated.
“We have the skills and the expertise to deliver global solutions - all we’re waiting on is Government to take the lead and provide the steps to get us there. In the current climate there is no incentive for utility providers to sink billions of pounds into projects that have no certain future.
“Launching CCS on a commercial scale will require it not only to be proven technologically but also to be economically viable. While reliance on carbon fuels is still a reality globally, CCS technology could be a very lucrative venture for the UK economy.”
Chief executive of Carbon Capture and Storage Association Jeff Chapman said:
“We are at a cross roads in developing carbon capture and storage in the UK. The potential benefits, both financial and in terms of decarbonising our electricity supply, are massive and we are ideally placed in terms of geological storage to develop CCS at a commercial scale. We led the world in developing wind power but lost out to other countries. Let’s not let CCS go the same way.”