04 May 2009
- Edinburgh, Scotland – Scotland, which
has just issued a report extolling its potential
for carbon capture and storage, should hold
off on constructing any new coal-fired power
stations until carbon storage becomes a
reality, WWF-Scotland said last week.
The government study,
Opportunities for C02 Storage Around Scotland,
notes that “evidence for climate change
and its potentially catastrophic effects
on the world is becoming clearer year on
year.”
The study’s authors
conclude that “Scotland has the geology
and the motivated and innovative skills
base required to deliver a major CO 2 storage
industry that will benefit both the Scottish
economy and the world's environment.”
Authors of the study,
however, note that further research is needed
to determine the feasibility of implementing
carbon capture and storage (CCS).
"Whilst carbon
capture is no silver bullet, it has the
potential to play an important role in the
global effort to cut carbon emissions,”
said Dr Dan Barlow, Head of Policy at WWF
Scotland.
"The report identifies
many issues that are yet to be resolved.
Whilst we need to move forward quickly to
progress this technology, the Scottish Government
should rule out building any new coal fired
power stations until carbon capture is proven
and can be applied to a power station from
the outset.
“Moving swiftly to demonstrate
how well this technology works using Scotland's
existing power stations would be an important
first step.”
"With power stations
responsible for a significant proportion
of our climate emissions ending the use
of unabated coal or gas power stations will
be critical in helping Scotland meet its
future climate targets alongside maximising
Scotland's huge renewable energy potential
and improving energy efficiency."
The study found Scotland
has the ability to safely accommodate industrial
emissions generated in Scotland and North
East of England for the next 200 years and
its offshore storage capacity for carbon
emissions is greater than the Netherlands,
Denmark and Germany combined.
Developing carbon capture
and storage in Scotland would also open
up real economic opportunities in developing
storage hubs and pipeline networks for Europe.
But the study also said
there was a need to fund CCS demonstration
using EU and other funding
WWF-UK said in a report
last year that there could be a role for
CCS in the power sector if technology is
demonstrated to be effective and transport
and storage can be shown to be safe and
environmentally benign.
But the report Evading
capture: Is the UK power sector ready for
carbon capture and storage? was highly critical
of an emerging practice for power station
proposals for advancing dubious claims that
the stations would be “CCS ready”, finding
that little of any substance lay behind
such claims.
Scotland’s parliament
is currently considering a draft climate
change bill, which WWF would like to see
strengthened with the addition of a legal
framework to require the reduction of Scotland’s
greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80%
by 2050, statutory annual targets for at
least 3% cuts in emissions year on year
to achieve such a reduction and the inclusion
of greenhouse gas emissions from international
aviation and shipping.
