EU Proposes Funding Carbon Capture Technologies for China

Europe is set to help set up Chinese and Indian Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology ventures, as a means of helping these two countries combat climate change, a draft EC (European Commission) publication states.

The EU intends to shortly get a consultation up and running on the best ways to implement CCS technologies into India and China.  If the ventures go ahead, they could lead to the two Asian nations contributing more to the upcoming, December 2009 climate change discussions in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“China builds, every year, as much coal-fired power plants as the entire UK generating capacity”, the EC document states. “Unless a way can be found of making this climate-compatible, we can never meet our climate objectives, regardless of what action we take in Europe.”

Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies

Carbon Capture and Storage technologies involve the capture and storage of CO2 created by industrial processes like fossil fuel incineration.  While they offer much potential, they are also costly, at least to apply on a large scale.

“A project of this size has never been done before” pro-CCS ZEP (a group of European researchers, environmentalists and corporate representatives) spokesman Eric Drosin commented.

“Knowledge sharing is crucial to the rapid deployment of CCS in China.

“We are willing to share all information except that which is covered by intellectual property rights.”

A number of environmentalists contest the idea of public money being allocated to CCS development and implementation, highlighting how it isn’t yet known to work on a large scale.  “Rather than trying to persuade China to bet on a technology that might not even work...the EU should help China invest in renewables and efficiency and leapfrog the fossil fuel-based energy model of the West”,  Frauke Thies, a member of Greenpeace, stated.

Under the terms of the plan so far, China will be tackled first.  Approximately $84 million in present EU funds will be injected into the EU-China NZEC (Near Zero Emissions Coal) proposal, while additional funding will also be sought. 

“It is likely that the CCS component of the Chinese NZEC demonstration project alone will cost in total around 300 million Euros”, the report writes, adding:  “We will seek to garner financial support from member states for this initiative, which in the first instance will affect China, then India, South Africa, OPEC and other emerging economies and developing countries”.