Carbon capture and storage: Pulling down the barriers in the European Union

2009 ◽  
Vol 223 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Tysoe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
European Union ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
And Storage

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the number of approaches to mitigating climate change by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. It involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from large point sources such as power plants, prior to compressing, transporting, and storing it securely in geological formations. The CO2 emitted is thus prevented from entering the atmosphere. CCS is believed, by many, to have massive potential to significantly reduce GHG emissions, with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggesting that CCS could contribute between 10 and 55 per cent of the world's total carbon mitigation effort until 2100. This article considers the principal impediments to the development of CCS projects and the steps taken in the European Union (EU) to overcome them. The development of CCS requires not only the establishment of adequate funding mechanisms and, most likely, the existence of consistently higher carbon prices than those prevail today, but also the settlement of a number of key legal issues. Although much further work is required on the part of legislators, a regulatory framework for CCS is slowly growing in various jurisdictions, especially in the EU where a large step forward was taken in December 2008 with the passing of a CCS Directive.

scholarly journals Integrating Carbon Dioxide Removal Into European Emissions Trading

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilfried Rickels ◽  
Alexander Proelß ◽  
Oliver Geden ◽  
Julian Burhenne ◽  
Mathias Fridahl
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Emissions Trading ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Eu Ets ◽  
The European Union ◽  
And Storage ◽  
The Eu

In one of the central scenarios for meeting an European Union-wide net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target by 2050, the emissions cap in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) becomes net negative. Despite this ambition, no mechanism allows for the inclusion of CO2 removal credits (CRCs) in the EU ETS to date. Amending the EU ETS legislation is required to create enabling conditions for a net negative cap. Here, we conceptually discuss various economic, legal, and political challenges surrounding the integration of CRCs into the EU ETS. To analyze cap-and-trade systems encompassing negative emissions, we introduce the effective (elastic) cap resulting from the integration of CRCs in addition to the regulatory (inelastic) cap, the latter now being binding for the net emissions only. Given current cost estimates for BECCS and DACCS, minimum quantities for the use of removals, as opposed to ceilings as currently discussed, would be required to promote the near-term integration of such technologies. Instead of direct interaction between the companies involved in emissions trading and the providers of CRCs, the regulatory authority could also transitionally act as an intermediary by buying CRCs and supplying them in turn conditional upon observed allowances prices, for example, by supporting a (soft) price collar. Contrary to a price collar without dedicated support from CRCs, in this case (net) compliance with the overall cap is maintained. EU legislation already provides safeguards for physical carbon leakage concerning CCS, making Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Capture and Storage prioritized for inclusion in the EU ETS. Furthermore, a special opportunity might apply for the inclusion of BECCS installations. Repealing the provision that installations exclusively using biomass are not covered by the ETS Directive, combined with freely allocated allowances to these installations, would allow operators of biomass installations to sell allowances made available through the use of BECCS. Achieving GHG neutrality in the EU by 2050 requires designing suitable incentive systems for CO2 removal, which includes the option to open up EU emissions trading to CRCs.

Carbon Capture and Storage

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Macrory
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Secure Storage ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Long Timescales ◽  
And Storage

The capture and long-term storage of carbon dioxide from power plants and other industrial installations may prove a key technology in climate change abatement strategies. Regulatory frameworks for carbon capture and storage (CCS) are now being developed in a number of jurisdictions. The European Union produced the first comprehensive legislation on the subject in 2009, which provides a compelling example of challenges associated with the design of regulation dealing with a novel technology. This chapter identifies three issues, each of which reflects aspects of regulatory legitimacy: the extent to which states within a federal or quasi-federal system should have the legal discretion to reject a technology; the way in which regulation provides for opportunities for public participation and engagement in issues concerning the new technology; and whether, and at what point, the state should assume responsibility for storage sites, given the long timescales necessary for secure storage.

Carbon Capture and Storage: Developments under European Union and International Law

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 353-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Havercroft ◽  
Ray Purdy
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Mitigation Option ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
And Storage

AbstractRecent amendments to key international legal regimes and the proposed introduction of an enabling legislative framework within Europe, have highlighted the importance of CCS as a climate mitigation option for the European Union and its Member States. This paper seeks to analyse these developments and provide an up-to-date examination of the issue of regulatory options for CCS and further proposals for the resolution of legal ambiguity.

scholarly journals The Environmental Regulation of Marine Carbon Capture and Storage in New Zealand: Principles, Barriers and Gaps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gregory Severinsen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
And Storage

<p>This thesis concerns the regulation of a technology called carbon capture and storage (CCS). The technology is one way to mitigate anthropogenic climate change, by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at point sources (such as power or industrial plants) and injecting them into deep underground geological formations. Specifically, the thesis looks at the framework of public environmental law that is needed for CCS in New Zealand where injection occurs offshore in its coastal marine area and exclusive economic zone. The thesis concludes that, when tested against existing principles in New Zealand's environmental law and the requirements of international law, current provisions in domestic law contain both significant barriers and gaps. These barriers must be removed and gaps must be filled.  The thesis identifies three broad features of New Zealand's law that give rise to a range of barriers and that need to be addressed. First, there is substantial uncertainty as to how existing provisions would apply to CCS. Greater certainty is needed. Secondly, the classification of CCS as a form of marine dumping presents a significant barrier. The technology needs to be classified differently, and more positively. Thirdly, the law contains a general prohibition on considering the effects of activities on climate change. This may prevent CCS being deployed in practice, and needs to be reconsidered.  New Zealand's existing law also contains three potential gaps, which must be filled. First, there is a dearth of CCS-specific regulatory and policy provisions within existing regimes such as the Resource Management Act 1991. This means operators and regulators would be operating in a regulatory and policy vacuum. Decisions may be inconsistent, fail to impose appropriate environmental standards, or fail to give appropriate weight to relevant considerations. Secondly, there are limitations in the ability of existing regimes to regulate the positive effects of activities – such as climate change mitigation - to ensure that they are actually achieved. Thirdly, existing law does not facilitate the kind of targeted and comparative decision-making process needed for CCS. This means that it does not provide an effective process for resolving tensions between competing resource interests in the sub-seabed.</p>

scholarly journals The Role of BECCS in Achieving Climate Neutrality in the European Union

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 7842
Author(s):  
Igor Tatarewicz ◽  
Michał Lewarski ◽  
Sławomir Skwierz ◽  
Vitaliy Krupin ◽  
Robert Jeszke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Climate Neutrality ◽  
And Storage ◽  
The Eu

The achievement of climate neutrality in the European Union by 2050 will not be possible solely through a reduction in fossil fuels and the development of energy generation from renewable sources. Large-scale implementation of various technologies is necessary, including bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), carbon capture and storage (CCS), and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), as well as industrial electrification, the use of hydrogen, the expansion of electromobility, low-emission agricultural practices, and afforestation. This research is devoted to an analysis of BECCS as a negative emissions technology (NET) and the assessment of its implementation impact upon the possibility of achieving climate neutrality in the EU. The modelling approach utilises tools developed within the LIFE Climate CAKE PL project and includes the MEESA energy model and the d-PLACE CGE economic model. This article identifies the scope of the required investment in generation capacity and the amount of electricity production from BECCS necessary to meet the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets in the EU, examining the technology’s impact on the overall system costs and marginal abatement costs (MACs). The modelling results confirm the key role of BECCS technology in achieving EU climate goals by 2050.

scholarly journals The Environmental Regulation of Marine Carbon Capture and Storage in New Zealand: Principles, Barriers and Gaps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gregory Severinsen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
And Storage

<p>This thesis concerns the regulation of a technology called carbon capture and storage (CCS). The technology is one way to mitigate anthropogenic climate change, by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at point sources (such as power or industrial plants) and injecting them into deep underground geological formations. Specifically, the thesis looks at the framework of public environmental law that is needed for CCS in New Zealand where injection occurs offshore in its coastal marine area and exclusive economic zone. The thesis concludes that, when tested against existing principles in New Zealand's environmental law and the requirements of international law, current provisions in domestic law contain both significant barriers and gaps. These barriers must be removed and gaps must be filled.  The thesis identifies three broad features of New Zealand's law that give rise to a range of barriers and that need to be addressed. First, there is substantial uncertainty as to how existing provisions would apply to CCS. Greater certainty is needed. Secondly, the classification of CCS as a form of marine dumping presents a significant barrier. The technology needs to be classified differently, and more positively. Thirdly, the law contains a general prohibition on considering the effects of activities on climate change. This may prevent CCS being deployed in practice, and needs to be reconsidered.  New Zealand's existing law also contains three potential gaps, which must be filled. First, there is a dearth of CCS-specific regulatory and policy provisions within existing regimes such as the Resource Management Act 1991. This means operators and regulators would be operating in a regulatory and policy vacuum. Decisions may be inconsistent, fail to impose appropriate environmental standards, or fail to give appropriate weight to relevant considerations. Secondly, there are limitations in the ability of existing regimes to regulate the positive effects of activities – such as climate change mitigation - to ensure that they are actually achieved. Thirdly, existing law does not facilitate the kind of targeted and comparative decision-making process needed for CCS. This means that it does not provide an effective process for resolving tensions between competing resource interests in the sub-seabed.</p>

scholarly journals Ownership, risk and the law for a CO2 transport network for carbon capture and storage in the European Union

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-462
Author(s):  
Raphael J Heffron ◽  
Lauren Downes ◽  
Marie Bysveen ◽  
Elisabeth V Brakstad ◽  
Tom Mikunda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Transport Network ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Co2 Transport ◽  
The Law ◽  
And Storage

Overview of Axial Compression Technology for Direct Capture of CO2

2013 ◽  
Vol 744 ◽  
pp. 392-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Xian Malcolm Chan ◽  
Eng Hwa Yap ◽  
Jee Hou Ho
Keyword(s):  
Axial Compression ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Direct Capture ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Air Capture ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
And Storage

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is one of the global leading methods that could potentially retard the speed of climate change. However, CCS on point sources can only slowdown the rate of increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration. In order to mitigate CO2 released by previous emissions, a more proactive alternative is proposed where CO2 is directly extracted and captured from air Direct Air Capture (DAC). This paper presents a technical overview from our current research of a novel DAC concept which features a phase of axial compression to adapt pre-capture atmospheric air to a level suitable for carbon capture. Also detailed in the paper is the feasibility study addressing several key issues: the energy consumption and overall capturing efficiency of the proposed DAC system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document