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CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Capturing the moment

James D Wolfensohn

Published 12:39 PM, 15 Jul 2010


Governments around the globe have committed more than $US26 billion towards carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, which is commendable as we aim to accelerate commercial deployment of the technology.

Some 20 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emission reductions necessary between now and 2050 can be achieved through CCS, according to the International Energy Agency.

But for that reduction to become reality, we need to have more than 3,000 projects operational over the next four decades, trapping and burrowing away a volume of carbon dioxide equivalent to twice the volume of oil and gas the world currently extracts each year.

CCS is not a silver bullet in the fight against climate change, but it could play an integral role reducing emissions. Existing technologies are not sufficient to deliver on this scale, nor are any – such as renewable energy – able to alone achieve the dramatic emissions cuts we need.

So CCS isn’t optional – it’s essential.

Two years after G8 leaders committed to broad deployment of CCS, that goal remains challenging – but it's achievable. Governments and industry are working closer together, technology options are growing, and work on surmounting the barriers around policy and regulation is starting to pay off as we see an increased number of projects get off the ground.

Many elements of the CCS debate are worth taking up, but I must admit the one that I find most compelling is the notion of using knowledge to speed up the process. Developing a first rate system for information exchange on CCS, its challenges and opportunities is a pressing task, one the Global CCS Institute is working on and which I very much look forward to exploring.

What we are looking for, in short, is to find ways in which we can develop a knowledge exchange program as a tool to capture and disseminate relevant information in a responsible manner. This will help drive technology diffusion, cost reduction, innovation, as well as reduce risks and improve public engagement.

Critics like to say we don’t know enough about CCS, but this is untrue. A handful of commercial scale CCS projects have been operational in Norway, Canada and Algeria for nearly as long as two decades. Vast learning is available from those successful projects, but not widely shared.

Today, as we aim to accelerate CCS deployment globally, the Australian government alone is putting $2 billion towards CCS projects. Learning from these projects will be shared through the Institute’s knowledge platform, as will accumulated lessons learned, case studies, reports and numerous specialised findings emerging from older projects worldwide. 

The Institute will be publishing its CCS information exchange during the second half of this year, striving to make it as useful as possible, given the critical value of the information.

We have to remind ourselves that we are not just talking about technology, or its cost. We also have to keep in mind the balance of our planet in terms of development, in terms of poverty, in terms of what we can do. 

We have an enormous challenge ahead of us if we are to work together to stabilise our planet’s climate before it’s too late. We must rise to this challenge.

There is no doubt that we will also need to try and have exchanges with each other – either on where we stand personally on CCS, and on where we stand politically, and where we stand on the global issues that confront us at this time. What is important is that we keep moving forward to try and ensure that CCS is at the forefront of our thinking.

James D. Wolfensohn is chairman of Wolfensohn & Company LLC, a private investment firm and an advisor to corporations and governments. He also chairs the International Advisory Panel of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.



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