Brussels Carbon Capture and Storage Summit 2009 – Getting it Right for Copenhagen

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ecent proposals by the European Commission for committing additional funding for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) demonstration projects has again highlighted the important role the EU institutions sees CSS playing in the move to a low carbon economy. A number of commercial-scale demonstration projects at EU level should be launched later this year, to complement a small number of national level initiatives already being undertaken, but what are the key issues relating to CCS as we approach the climate negotiations in Copenhagen?

CCS does attract criticism, not least from those who view the public finances spent on CCS development as diverting money away from renewables and can lead to an increase in the demand for energy resources because of the decrease in efficiency that results from adding CCS into the power system. Is the funding of CCS proportionate to its ultimate potential value keeping in mind that over 50% of our electricity is currently generated from fossil fuels? Would eventual roll out of CCS at a commercial level extend global reliance on fossil fuels and reduce efforts and innovation in the area of renewables and less polluting fuels or would it change the economics of power generation and make renewables more attractive?

The Emissions Trading Scheme and its associated carbon markets are designed to operate as drivers for the development of technologies that reduce CO2 output. How, going forward, can the Member States and EU institutions best facilitate a carbon market that does not become ineffective or even an obstacle to CCS development and uptake?
With the International Energy Agency predicting that fossil fuels will remain the global energy source of necessity through to 2050, what will be the role played by CCS in reducing European and global GHG emissions? Does CCS face many of the same "public perception" challenges faced by the nuclear industry for example? Would early development of CCS technologies in the EU result in good market opportunities in the future? At a political level, how far could developments in CCS technologies be used as examples of collective and tangible action at EU level and thereafter as a driver for encouraging others - including the USA and the major emerging economies such as China and India et al - to invest in low carbon or carbon reducing technologies?

This conference will seek to address some of the major issues associated with CCS during the build up to Copenhagen and will bring together stakeholders from across Europe and internationally