INFORM Carbon Reduction
PERFORMANCE POLICY
Government is not doing
enough to tackle climate
change, according to a new
Carbon capture test: ‘polluting’
report by the Sustainable
Development Commission. Demonstrating carbon capture
The commission welcomes and storage (CCS) technology
progress the UK has made so could actually increase power
far but says government sector emissions, according
departments are still not on to WWF.
course to meet even their own A new report argues that, if the
targets for reducing emissions government gives the green light
by 12.5%. And far more remains to new coal-fired power stations
to be done if they are to make in order to test small-scale CCS
a real contribution towards projects, the new technology will
meeting UK-wide targets for actually raise UK carbon emis-
80% emissions reductions by sions instead of lowering them.
2050. The commission also “Building a new power station Existing power stations ‘should be used to test carbon capture and storage’
called on government to set on the scale of Kingsnorth
“more ambitious” targets for [in Kent] with CCS technology ment proposed that it would fund existing power station, such
improving sustainability so it covering only a small portion of up to four demonstrations to test as Scottish Power’s plant at
would “lead by example”. its output, will raise the country’s different CCS technologies. Longannet, would reduce
carbon emissions by millions of In response, WWF commis- emissions by 14.5M tonnes of
OPINION
tonnes,” said Keith Allott, WWF’s sioned IPA Energy + Water CO
2
over the same period.
European Environment head of climate change. Economics to compare the poten- “If the proposed new plants at
Commissioner Stavros Dimas “A much smarter way of tial impact that demonstrating the Kingsnorth in Kent or Tilbury in
has warned of the urgency of demonstrating the technology is technology on an existing or a Essex get built with only a small
tackling climate change, saying to use an existing station that new coal-fired power station level of carbon capture, then 80%
that global leaders have “one would be running anyway. This could have on the power sector’s of the total emissions from these
more chance” to would actually reduce our CO
2
emissions. plant could still end up in the
keep us out of the emissions, and would avoid The report shows that, if the atmosphere,” added Allott.
danger zone when locking us in to a new gener- technology is tested at the “Technical problems with CCS
they meet to ation of polluting coal sta- 300MW scale proposed by the – or claims of excessive cost –
thrash out a new tions if it turns out that CCS government, on a brand new coal mean that there is a real possibility
international cli- is too difficult or expensive.” power station of 1,600MW, then that retrofitting an entire power
mate agreement CCS aims to reduce emis- overall emissions from the power station would prove unfeasible
in Copenhagen sions from burning coal and sector could increase by 32M and unattractive to power compa-
later this year. gas by capturing CO
2
and then tonnes of CO
2
between 2014 and nies further down the line.
Speaking at the European transporting it to underground 2025. This is roughly equivalent to “This is why a safety net, such
Policy Centre last month, Dimas storage sites. running an extra four and a half as an Emissions Performance
reiterated that, without deep As yet, the process has not been coal-fired power plants for a Standard, which places a limit on
cuts to carbon emissions, glob- proven on a commercial scale. whole year. emissions from power plant must
al warming is likely to pass the However, in April, the govern- But fitting carbon capture to an be in place from the outset.”
all-important 2˚C cut-off point
by the middle of the century.
OPINION
“The window of opportunity
for avoiding dangerous climate
Consumers ‘must change behaviour’
change is closing fast,” he said.
That means the Copenhagen Consumer behaviour must remaining commercially viable. He stressed that there
agreement is almost certainly change if British refineries are to But, he said, further cuts would were already living, breathing
the world’s last chance to put meet the national targets of only be made if demand examples of far more efficient
global emissions onto a trajec- reducing carbon emissions by dropped. refineries in Europe and that
tory that can keep us out of the 80% by 2050. He argued that the UK the British plants simply had to
danger zone. Failure to prevent This was the conclusion of refineries could cut their carbon follow suit.
dangerous climate change will IChemE researcher Dr Philip footprint by around 24% using “Benelux and Scandinavia are
cost far more than taking the Holmes when he spoke at the existing technology and opera- currently operating as leaders of
necessary action – between 5% Sustainabilitylive! exhibition tional changes, most of which the pack when it comes to energy
and a staggering 20% or more last month. would save them money in the efficiency and carbon emissions,”
of global annual GDP in the Dr Holmes, who spent two long run. he said.
long run, according to Lord decades working for oil giant By adding carbon capture and “The industry doesn’t have to
Stern’s seminal study. ExxonMobil, said that the major storage (CCS) on to the refiner- believe what I’m saying, it just
“Delay will only increase the refineries could probably reduce ies further savings of around needs to benchmark itself against
cost and decrease the chances their emissions by 60% while 37% could be achieved. the best in Europe.”
of success.”
QUOTE OF THE MONTH ‘DEALING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IS THE BIGGEST PUBLIC-PRIVATE-PARTNERSHIP THIS COUNTRY
6 June 2009 ❘ Sustainable Business
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