Media Releases
Major US climate change forum rallies behind CCS as a key technology to decarbonize the economy
19th March 2019
Washington, DC, March 19, 2019: Leaders from government, industry and the public sector meeting in Washington, DC have been told that no decarbonization option should be taken off the table given the scale and urgency of climate change.
Speaking at the 8th Annual Forum on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) hosted by the Global CCS Institute, Brad Page, the organisation’s CEO, told the audience of more than 120 delegates that all clean energy technologies must be deployed immediately to meet Paris targets and transition to a new energy economy.
Mr. Page, who heads the international think tank, said the 45-year old technology is proven and backed by science and commercial application. In fact, there are currently 18 large-scale CCS facilities in operation globally. Mr. Page added that CCS must sit alongside renewables and other clean technologies as a mainstream decarbonization option.
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) recently released 1.5 °C Report has reaffirmed the essential role CCS has to play in decarbonization. “The reality is, all decarbonization options are needed and all available technologies must be deployed at scale to ensure an emissions-free future by mid-century.”
Mr. Page said CCS can deliver deep emissions cuts in the power, industrial, and transportation sectors.
“Furthermore, as organizations like the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers have attested, CCS can create significant economic opportunities for job creation, new industries and growth.”
“CCS opens up a new set of opportunities for decarbonizing the United States’ economy. Not only will it allow a just transition for workers currently employed in the energy sector but will also prevent the early retirement of productive assets. As such, large-scale CCS deployment, alongside renewable and clean energy and as part of an economy-wide decarbonization strategy, has the opportunity to boost the US to become the manufacturing heart of a zero-emissions future.”
Mr Page said the United States has now joined a growing number of countries which are creating the “policy confidence” necessary to scale-up the deployment of CCS.
“An enabling policy framework is fundamental for large-scale CCS deployment globally, and project developers and investors need the confidence generated through consistent government support.
“In the US, the tradable tax credit incentive known as 45Q which was passed last year has created a climate that is allowing CCS to flourish.
“The 45Q tax credit should be seen as the most progressive CCS-specific incentive globally. At $50 t/CO2 for CO2 stored in geologic storage and $35 t/CO2 for CO2 permanently stored via enhanced oil recovery (EOR), it has already seen new projects announcements. More are expected, especially once the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) clarifies the administrative processes that will apply.”
Mr Page also pointed to the state of California’s recently passed CCS protocol for its Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) as an enabler to CCS projects that will reduce emissions from transportation – the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Additionally, Direct Air Capture, a technology that removes CO2 out of the air, would also benefit from the receipt of credits in the LCFS market.
Speakers at the Forum included representatives from Toyota, Occidental Petroleum, Southern Company, Exelon, LafargeHolcim, the Clean Air Task Force, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, and the Aspen Institute.