Global CCS Institute: ‘Expect a Climate Disaster Unless…’, Edinburgh Conference Told

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Nov. 29 -- The Global CCS Institute issued the following news release:

International climate change leaders meeting in Edinburgh have heard that any exclusion of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) amongst key climate change remedies will spell disaster for Paris targets - and any hope of a fully decarbonised future.

An international conference organised by the UK Government and the Global CCS Institute following on from the UK Government - International Energy Agency (IEA) International CCUS Summit, has called on all sectors - government, financial, environmental and industrial - to collaborate on the acceleration of CCS/CCUS technologies.

Opening the event, UK Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, Rt Hon Claire Perry said:

"At this seminal summit and conference, the UK is setting a world-leading ambition for developing and deploying carbon capture and storage technology to cut emissions."

"It shows how determined all countries are to unlock the potential of this game-changing technology that representatives from across the globe are gathered in Edinburgh. The time is now to seize this challenge to tackle climate change while kick starting an entirely new industry."

Supporting these points, Global CCS Institute CEO, Brad Page, said the UK has a genuine opportunity to become a global technology leader for CCUS, securing the economic and climate benefits it can deliver.

Under the theme "Accelerating CCUS", the international conference highlighted the full potential and the multifaceted value of CCUS for national and global economies. The deployment of CCS could:

* preserve jobs and generate new employment;

* build new industries, especially in the manufacture of CCS-related componentry;

* create new energy economies including hydrogen, and CO2 re-use applications;

* support industrial competitiveness and new innovation.

At the event, Global CCS Institute CEO, Brad Page also emphasised that the time to pick favourite clean technologies was over.

"As the recently released IPCC 1.5 report acknowledges, CCS technologies are indispensable to a net zero future. There is simply no other technology that can address emissions from sectors such as steel, cement and fertilisers which remain indispensable to our future.

"The debate needs to shift and it must shift if anyone is truly serious about targets and timeframes. Expect a climate disaster if CCS is not on the table."

Mr Page said that over the past year, CCUS progress had been made in the UK, USA, China, Japan, Norway and the Netherlands, where supportive CCS mechanisms were being put in place.

Mr Page, a UK CCUS Council Member, said the UK especially, had recognised the full potential that CCUS can bring to industry, employment and the long-term economy.

In his opening remarks to the conference, IEA Executive Director, Dr Fatih Birol, said: "CCUS is critically important for reaching global climate targets while meeting the planet's energy needs. We've seen slow and steady progress on CCUS in the past decade, but this is far from enough. The task of deploying CCUS must be approached with a real sense of urgency."

"But, as we saw yesterday during the UK-IEA hosted International CCUS Summit, the technology is attracting renewed interest from governments and industry, thanks in part to the UK Government's leadership. As our recent analysis from the World Energy Outlook demonstrated, CCUS is one of the few technologies that can create room for manoeuvre by allowing critical energy infrastructure to operate without carbon emissions," Dr Birol said.

The conference has brought together more than 350 international experts to explore avenues for collaboration and investment in CCUS projects.

There are currently 23 commercial large-scale global CCS facilities in operation or construction and a further 28 pilot and demonstration scale facilities in operation or under construction.

You can find out more about the conference, speakers and agenda on the event's website: https://www.ccusglobalconference.com/