Why CCS

Why do we need CCS? According to experts all over the world, CCS is one of the main solutions to reduce global CO2 emissions. But there is some sceptisism. Lots of people say that more renewable energy and enhanced energy efficiency can do the job. Bellona has therefore performed a comprehensive study to analyse how global CO2 emissions can be reduced. The conclusions are clear; we certainly need CCS to reduce global CO2 emissions sufficiently to avoid the most dramatic consequences of global warming.

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The results from the study are documented in a paper that can be downloaded as a PDF file. The paper was published in June 2007, and the summary of the paper is given below.
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Summary

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be reduced by 50 to 80 percent by 2050 to avoid dramatic consequences of global warming. Scenarios from the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicate that the potential for reduced CO₂ emissions through enhanced energy efficiency and increased renewable energy production is limited. According to the IPCC, a delay in CO₂ emission reductions can lead to dramatic consequences, and a new strategy for reducing CO₂ emissions as soon as possible is required. CO₂ Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology with potential for large reductions in CO₂ missions within 10 to 20 years. Therefore, the strategy for reducing global CO2-emissions must be a combination of :

1. Increased energy efficiency
2. More renewable energy production
3. A wide implementation of CCS.

By establishing stronger incentives favoring energy efficiency and renewable energy and by ensuring wide deployment of CCS, global CO₂ emissions can be reduced by approximately 70 percent by 2050 compared to emissions today.

The figure above shows how global CO2 emissions can be reduced by 71 percent in 2050 compared to emissions today. The upper line is global CO2 emissions in a Business-as-usual scenario. The yellow, green, and blue areas indicate CO2 emission reduction due to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and CCS, respectively. The grey area indicates the global CO2 emissions when emission reduction through energy efficiency, renewable energy and CCS are addressed.

Please note that this study only addresses CO₂ emissions and not other greenhouse gases. Furthermore, the scope of the study was on energy and industry related CO₂ emissions. Emissions due to land-use change are not adressed.