A new survey of over 500 key energy decision makers from across Europe has found a strong appetite for the development of CO2 capture and storage technologies in Europe as a way of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide.
The survey was directed at the energy industry, researchers, governments, environmental groups and parliamentarians and respondents from 28 European nations.
Comments Elisabeth Tørstad: “There is a strong support for the development and implementation of technologies for the capture of CO2 from power plants and its storage in geological reservoirs. The technology is now being seen as necessary if Europe is to meet the demanding CO2 reduction targets that are in the process of being adopted. The perceived advantages of CO2 capture and storage are that it can be implemented over the next few decades and has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions rapidly in most countries. The key concerns expressed in the survey are the relatively high cost at present of CO2 capture and the effect of investment in this technology upon development of renewable sources of energy.”
Main findings of the survey:
Need for CO2 capture and storage
Three quarters thought that widespread use of CO2 capture and storage was definitely or probably necessary to achieve deep reductions in CO2 emissions between now and 2050 in their own country. Only one in eight considered that CO2 capture and storage was probably or definitely not necessary to achieve deep reductions in CO2 emissions by 2050.
Risk perceptions of CO2 capture and storage
The environmental and health and safety risks of CO2 capture and storage were regarded by the majority of respondents as being moderate or minimal. For most risks, 60 to 80% thought that there would be no risks or that the risks would be minimal, 15 to 30% thought that the risks would be moderate, whilst 2 to just over 10% thought that they would be very serious.
Another risk which concerned 44% of the sample was that investment in CO2 capture and storage might have negative impacts upon development of other low-carbon energy technologies such as renewable energies. 51%, however, did not think that there would be negative impacts or thought that impacts might even be positive. A similar response was observed with respect to the possible impacts of CO2 capture and storage upon development of a more decentralised power generation system.
Incentives for CO2 capture and storage
Half of the respondents thought that incentives for CO2 capture and storage should be set either at the same level as those for renewables (39%) or at a higher level (11%). By contrast, a third of the respondents consider that incentives for CO2 capture and storage should be lower than those for renewables. A further 12% felt that incentives for CO2 capture and storage were not needed at all.
By far the most popular incentive mechanism is support for research, development and demonstration (over 90% in favour), followed by an early commitment to extend the EU Emissions Trading Scheme with tighter emission caps (77% in favour, 8% against).
Environmental organisations least enthusiastic
Environmental organisations are the most sceptical about the role of CO2 capture and storage and have a more negative perception of the potential risks than other stakeholders.
The energy industry most enthusiastic
The energy industry is most enthusiastic about the role of CO2 capture and storage, including a low perception of the risks and generally not sharing the concerns regarding the adverse impacts of CO2 capture and storage upon investment in renewable energies.
Norway, the Netherlands and UK lead the way Strongest support for CCS was identified in Norway, Netherlands and UK. Not far behind are Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
The survey was carried out as part of the ACCEPT programme, funded by the Research Directorate of the European Commission. The survey was coordinated by DNV.