Today at the GECF Headquarters, HE Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, emphasized the crucial role of CCUS in tackling climate change.
He stated, “CCUS is a key technology to mitigate climate change. Dismissing CCUS as non-essential in climate change mitigation is misguided, at the very least. It reminds me of a similar misjudgment made two decades ago that the world was running out of oil. “
In this connection, it is worthy to recall the IEA’s ‘CCUS in Clean Energy Transitions’ report published in September 2020 (CCUS in Clean Energy Transitions – Analysis – IEA), and to highlight some report’s key points:
- “Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) will need to form a key pillar of efforts to put the world on the path to net-zero emissions”
- “Reaching net zero will be virtually impossible without CCUS”
- “With ample storage available, success will hinge on getting the infrastructure right”
- “Government action this decade is crucial”
- “Four high-level priorities for governments and industry would accelerate the progress of CCUS over the next decade:
- Create the conditions for investment by placing a value on reducing emissions and direct support for early CCUS projects
- Coordinate and underwrite the development of industrial hubs with shared CO2 infrastructure
- Identify and encourage the development of CO2 storage in key regions
- Boost innovation to reduce costs and ensure that critical emerging technologies become commercial, including in sectors where emissions are hard to abate and for carbon removal.”
Hamel concluded, “Addressing multiple challenges such as lifting people out of poverty, providing clean cooking and heating to 2.3 billion lacking it, ensuring access to reliable electricity, fueling economic growth, enhancing prosperity, improving living standards in developing countries, reducing household indoor pollution, and improving air quality in urban areas, all while simultaneously tackling climate change and the energy trilemma, requires a multifaceted approach.
“There is no single solution; all energies and technologies are essential. As we approach COP28, it is important to remind that under the Paris Agreement, each country’s contributions to climate action are determined nationally, in the light of their unique circumstances and capabilities. It is not appropriate to dictate to others what they should do. The principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, should continue to be the cornerstone of all actions.”