CO2 Capture, Transport and Storage

Ladies and gentlemen,

Climate change is taking place – and at a more rapid pace than ever before. Mankind’s development and use of technology is at the heart of the problem. But technology will also play an essential role in the response to climate change.  Carbon capture and storage can be a major element in this. It is therefore a great pleasure for me to be here today and address this conference.

This year the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report has given an overwhelming documentation of the scientific knowledge on climate change, its causes and consequences. The report is full of inconvenient and frightening facts. The main messages can no longer be misunderstood: The global climate is changing. The warming over the last 50 years is due to man made emissions. The warming will continue. The consequences will be large, and they will affect us all.

The Arctic is where climate change is first seen. The temperature has been increasing twice as fast as the global average. We have seen reductions in ice and snow cover at an alarming rate.

So yes, there is every reason to be concerned. Very concerned! We have started an accelerating process. And we don’t know where it will end.

To me the political conclusion to be drawn is clear: The IPCC Report confirms the need for a stronger regime under the UN Climate Convention after 2012.

The time for action is long overdue. Based on the scientific findings, the Norwegian government, like the EU, has concluded that the long term goal should be to avoid a temperature increase above 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The global emissions must peak within the next decade. In 2050 global emissions must be 50-80 per cent below today’s level. This is an enormous challenge. It requires new policies and measures in all sectors of global society.  CCS can make an important contribution to mitigation, and may even be a condition for complying with the long term goal of 2 degrees.    

Climate change and energy supply are policy areas which are closely linked. Today about 1.5 billion people are still without electricity. Projections show that energy demand will continue to increase significantly, and fossil fuels will remain essential. Much of the growth in global greenhouse gas emissions from 1970 to 2004 has come in the energy supply sector. In order to meet the worldwide energy and climate challenges, we should use available energy more efficiently.  We need to increase the use of renewable energy sources, and we must find sustainable ways of using fossil fuels. The climate challenge is so dramatic that we must base the solution on a wide range of measures.

CCS can become a bridge between our carbon intensive society and a society based on renewable energy sources in the future.

As a major energy supplier, Norway has a special obligation to bring forward low carbon energy solutions such as carbon capture and storage. CCS is therefore an important element in Norway’s climate policy. We will contribute actively to its diffusion and deployment.

Nationally, the policy of the Norwegian government is to base all new gas fired power plants on CCS technology. With a combination of tough emission standards and financial support, we are, over the coming years, determined to develop this technology.

At the power plant at Mongstad, the emissions permit requires that
full-scale management of CO2 must be established by the end of 2014. The emission permit and the agreement between the state and Statoil stipulate that development of a full-scale CCS plant must proceed in parallel with construction of the power plant.

The Norwegian government is also financially committed to CCS. We have proposed to allocate more than one point one billion kroner to CCS in the Budget for 2008. The allocation will contribute to research, demonstration and development of specific CCS projects.

The Norwegian CCS policy is founded in the government’s ambitions of international technology development and substantial cuts in national greenhouse gas emissions. These ambitions are expressed in the White Paper on our new, enforced climate change policy. The White Paper presents the following 3 goals for reduction in Norway’s future emissions:

Firstly: During the first Kyoto period from 2008 to 2012 Norway will reduce its emissions beyond its commitment by 10 percent points.
Secondly: Norway intends by 2020 to reduce the global emissions of greenhouse gases equivalent to 30 percent of its emissions in 1990. Between half and two-thirds of the cuts in our total emissions by 2020 will be made in Norway.
And finally: Norway intends to cut the global emissions equivalent to 100 percent of its own emissions by 2050. This would make Norway a carbon neutral country.

The White Paper also proposes climate action plans for the main sectors responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. The plans contain concrete new measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Norway.  The climate policy goals and measures will therefore affect all sectors of society. It sets out the path towards a low emission society. 

In December, we will meet in Bali. There we must agree to a mandate for negotiating a global agreement, based on the principle of common, but differentiated responsibilities. Discussions on a future climate regime should be guided by the goal of limiting global temperature increase to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius. The development and implementation of CCS technologies would be vital in these efforts.
Therefore it is good that CCS is gaining international acceptance as a viable climate measure. I am pleased that changes in the OSPAR Convention and in the London Protocol have accommodated storage of CO2 under the seabed.

Based on the great potential for emission reductions, Norway believes that it is important to accommodate for CCS under the Green Development Mechanism as well. Of course the projects must be environmentally sound. Safe storage is necessary.

Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Carbon capture and storage can play an important role in greenhouse gas mitigation. I hope that this conference will contribute to bringing forward research in this important area. Good luck in your work!