core sector communique

Energy Ministers Endorse CCUS as Key to Combating Climate Change
Urge Rapid Deployment of Large Demonstrations

Beijing, China — Energy and environment ministers from the Carbon Sequestration  Leadership Forum’s (CSLF) member nations today endorsed carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies (CCUS) as a key component of international plans to combat  climate change.  

In a Communiqué released following day-long discussions, CSLF member country  Ministers and Heads of Delegation affirmed that CCUS is an indispensible element of  any effective response to climate change and urged the world to increase the number of  large demonstrations to enable the deployment of CCUS commercially by the end of this  decade.

CCUS is a group of technologies for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse  gas, emitted by power plants or industrial facilities, utilizing it for such things as enhanced oil and gas recovery and safely injecting it deep underground into suitable, permanent geologic storage sites. It is increasingly viewed by international experts as an essential part of a portfolio of responses by the world to effective management and
reduction of human-based CO2 emissions.

The CSLF’s support at a high-level meeting here is an indication the international  community views carbon capture and storage as an integral component of any international plan to combat climate change.  

The CSLF has recognized 30 active and completed diverse carbon capture and storage  projects throughout the world, projects that are sharing their results globally through the CSLF. Ministers said it is clear that while significant progress is being made on CCUS, challenges remain. “Challenges that can—and will—be overcome,” they stated. One such challenge is the requirement that new projects will require the development of policies to underpin necessary financial investments and bring about a mix of public and private financing.

“Financing of projects will be a greater challenge, especially in developing countries, but a challenge that must be overcome. We today reaffirmed our commitment to work with the private sector to build and finance the needed demonstration projects over the next decade,” the Ministers stated.The Ministers also applauded the decision at last year’s United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 16) to recognize CCUS as a measure in the Clean Dvelopment Mechanism (CDM). They called on delegates at the upcoming COP 17, to be held in Durban, South Africa, to recognize the key role of CCUS as a low carbon technology in mitigating climate change and to finalize the inclusion of CCUS as a measure in the CDM and in any other financial mechanisms created to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

The Ministers indicated they welcome additional international collaborations on CCUS  through the International Energy Agency, Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, and the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). The increasing number of such collaborations is seen as a reflection of the growing global recognition of the criticality of CCUS, they said. 

A full text of the Ministerial Communiqué may be read at www.cslforum.org.CSLF is a Ministerial-Level international climate change initiative marshalling worldwide resources to develop improved, cost-effective technologies for the separation, capture, transport, and long-term storage of CO2 from power plants and industrial facilities. CSLF membership includes 25 developed and developing nations, including China and India, and the European Commission, united in seeking practical and constructive ways of dealing with concerns about CO2 and climate change.  

CSLF member countries account for approximately 60 percent of the world's population - - 3.5 billion people; 76 percent of world man-made CO2 emissions; 75 percent of world energy consumption; 70 percent of world energy production; and 76 percent of world GDP.

Forum membership spans the world's largest blocs of economic activity, including the  North America Free Trade Area, the European Union and the leading economies of Asia.  Members are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.