Public Security chief launches digital vehicle plate wallet service    'Action is in our nature': 4th Saudi Green Initiative Forum to be held at COP16    Pop hit APT too distracting for South Korea's exam-stressed students    Saudi Arabia's inflation rate hits 1.9% in October, the highest in 14 months    Mohammed Al-Habib Real Estate Co. sets Guinness World Record with largest continuous concrete pour    PIF completes largest-ever accelerated bookbuild offering in MENA region    Saudi Arabia signs renewable energy program with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at COP29    Australia and Saudi Arabia settle for goalless draw in AFC Asian Qualifiers    Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of mass displacement in Gaza amounting to war crime    Thousands of protesters march in Paris ahead of tense football match between France and Israel    Republicans win 218 US House seats, giving Donald Trump control of government    UN sounds alarm at Israel's 'severe violations' at key buffer zone with Syria    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    Saudi, Indian foreign ministers co-chair Cooperation Committee meeting in New Delhi    South Korean actor Song Jae Lim found dead at 39    Don't sit on the toilet for more than 10 minutes, doctors warn    'Marvels of Saudi Orchestra' to dazzle audience in Tokyo on Nov. 22    Saudi Champion Saeed Al-Mouri scores notable feat in Radical World Championship in Abu Dhabi with support from Bin-Shihon Group    Rita Ora is tearful in tribute to Liam Payne at MTV Awards    France to deploy 4,000 police officers for UEFA Nations League match against Israel    Al Nassr edges past Al Riyadh with Mane's goal to move up to third    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Arab world to address carbon capture and storage technology
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 02 - 04 - 2012

Fossil fuels are likely to remain a major part of the global energy mix for decades. Without a way of reducing the impact of burning fossil fuels on our climate there is no credible scenario under which the international community can reduce emissions of greenhouse gases sufficiently to limit global average temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, the agreed goal under the UN negotiations.
And yet, so far, progress to demonstrate and deploy carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at scale has been painfully inadequate.
CCS technology is not yet mature and is expensive. In the long-term CCS will be viable if it is cheaper to capture and store the CO2 emissions than to release them into the atmosphere. This means there must be a sufficient cost imposed on installations that emit carbon. Estimates suggest that, once CCS technology is mature, a carbon price - the cost of emitting carbon into the atmosphere - of between $44 and $103 will be sufficient to make CCS viable. Although the current price of carbon in the EU (the world's major carbon market) is around €9 ($12), a tightening of the cap on emissions from 2013 means that a sufficient carbon price in the EU is a distinct possibility.
Against this backdrop, plans are underway for Qatar to host this year's UN climate change conference in December.
If one takes into account recent laws and proposals to set up carbon markets in Australia, China, Mexico, South Korea and California in the US, it is not too much of a leap to imagine a price of carbon high enough to make CCS viable across a range of countries. The problem is not that CCS isn't viable in the long-term; the problem is that, in the short- to medium-term, it is going to require big capital investments to build the commercial scale demonstration projects that will help to bring down the costs to a long-term equilibrium. Until now, with a lack of regulatory certainty about the future price of carbon and the fiscal challenges to governments and businesses in the economic downturn, investments have not been forthcoming on the scale required.
First, on the fossil fuel supply side, Qatar and the other Gulf states have a motive. CCS is a great technology for countries that sell fossil fuels. It allows the burning of these fuels in a way that does not damage the climate, thus potentially prolonging the life of the markets for fossil fuels, even in a highly carbon constrained post-2020 world.
Second, on the demand side, China's production of a fossil-fuelled power station a week offers the opportunity to bring down costs fast. And with coal and oil-dependent China likely to take on some form of emissions reduction target under a post-2020 climate change deal, it is now in China's strategic interest to commercialize this technology quickly.
Finally, the regulatory outlook is more certain. Before the most recent round of UN negotiations in South Africa in December, many commentators thought that the legally binding nature of the UN process would dissipate when the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period expired in 2012. Durban changed that.


Clic here to read the story from its source.