Norway, SA need to pool climate efforts

IT IS Norway’s view that the increase in global mean temperature must be limited to a maximum of 2°C compared with the pre-industrial level. In order to avoid serious damage, greenhouse gas emissions will have to be reduced by 50%-85% by 2050. This is a complex challenge, because the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that global energy demand will almost double by 2030.

SA has played a key role in the global response to climate change, and is already a constructive player in the climate change negotiation process, both in the Group of 77 and in the African context. SA’s world-class researchers and centres of expertise are also making important contributions to our understanding of climate change, particularly in Africa.

Climate change is directly related to the world’s use of energy. All prognoses indicate that energy use will increase, and that the proportion supplied by coal, oil and gas will still be about 75% in 2030. This means that we must not only develop renewable energy technologies and implement far-reaching energy efficiency measures, we must also develop technology that limits greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.

Carbon capture and storage has the potential to reduce emissions from coal and gas power plants by 85%-95%. This technology involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO² ) and storing it safely in geological structures. Carbon capture and storage is not designed to save the oil industry. But it will help to save the world from global warming.

According to the IEA, carbon capture and storage will have to account for about 20% of the necessary emission reductions, which is why the Norwegian government organised a conference on carbon capture and storage earlier this year to discuss important aspects of these technologies.

Norway is in a particularly favourable position to contribute to the fight against climate change through the further development of carbon capture and storage. Since 1996, Norway has been separating 1-million ton s of CO² a year from the gas production stream from the Sleipner field in the North Sea and injecting it into a geological formation 1km below the bed of the North Sea.

The Norwegian government is investing heavily in the European CO² Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), on the west coast of Norway, where a combined heat and power plant is being developed with a full-scale carbon-capture facility. This will capture 1,3-million tons of CO² a year from the new power plant and potentially an additional 1-million tons from the existing refinery.

The aim is for the power plant to produce electricity with no emissions of CO². The memorandum of understanding signed yesterday between Sasol and Gassnova will enable Sasol to explore the possibility of becoming a participant in TCM.

The centre is a unique international technology co-operation, established to test, verify and demonstrate technology suitable for deployment at large-scale CO² capture facilities.

A new climate regime under the Climate Change Convention must ensure that incentives are established to promote the dissemination of carbon capture and storage technology to the major emitters that do not have commitments at present. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month will be a golden opportunity to pave the way for carbon capture and storage in the Clean Development Mechanism or other financial mechanisms established for this purpose.

Co-operation on climate change has become a priority in our co-operation with SA. This co-operation will be based on the strong ties that already exist between our two countries, particularly in the fields of the environment, energy, science and technology. Norway supports the Carbon Capture and Storage Centre that has recently been established at the South African National Energy Research Institute.

Climate change threatens the very basis of life for future generations. But we can address this problem through common but differentiated efforts to develop new technologies. We must be prepared to offer each other support and encouragement in our common fight against global warming.