Growing momentum behind carbon capture can make it a new clean energy success story

(EurActiv, 28 Sep 2020) Governments and companies have the chance today to turn carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) into a clean energy success story that will bring environmental and economic benefits worldwide. Without it, our energy and climate goals will become almost impossible to reach, write Erna Solberg and Fatih Birol.

Erna Solberg is the prime minister of Norway. Fatih Birol is the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Norway just marked a major milestone in the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage – a vital technology area for achieving international energy and climate goals.

CCUS technologies enable us to catch CO2 emissions and reuse or geologically store them so they can’t contribute to climate change. This will be important for reducing emissions across the global energy system – from power plants to cement factories and hydrogen production – and can also help to balance emissions that cannot be avoided.

The Norwegian government’s commitment last week of 16.8 billion kroner ($1.8 billion) for the “Longship” project shows the way forward in terms of technology and scale. Longship will capture CO2 from a cement plant and a waste-to-energy plant for transport to the Northern Lights storage facility deep under the North Sea.

External link

EurActiv, 28 Sep 2020: Growing momentum behind carbon capture can make it a new clean energy success story