Last month, we formed the ENGO Network on CCS, comprising nine of the world’s leading environmental and climate change advocacy organizations coming together in support of policies and regulations for safe and effective CCS.

Our current Network members are: Clean Air Task Force, Environmental Defense Fund, Green Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Bellona Foundation, The Climate Institute, The Pembina Institute, World Resources Institute, and Zero Emission Resource Organisation.

The urgency of climate change has brought us together, along with recognition of the world's current and projected use of fossil fuels. Consequently, we think that CCS should be viewed as a critical mitigation technology for large-scale emission reductions, and we plan to work toward common positions in support thereof.

Naturally, we desire only those policies and initiatives that reflect best practices, while protecting climate, human health and the environment, and certainly, some geographic regions have gained momentum along these lines while others endure weaker support. It is perhaps no coincidence that those regions with strong industrial, public and political support also contain some of the world’s most promising projects.

• ENGO Network Member John Thompson with Clean Air Task Force points to Canada as a potential model due to various incentives, regulations and collaborations. Canada issued draft federal regulations last fall that will create an 'achievable standard', Thompson says, for the first time setting federal limits on CO₂ emission from coal plants. He also commends the collaborative ICO2N network which brings together coal, oil sands and power utility members, all with a strong interest in developing Canadian CCS. [The Alberta Government is contributing significant funding to four commercial-scale CCS projects: the Shell Quest project is the farthest along with a public hearing scheduled for March 2012. If approved it would capture more than 1 million tonnes of CO₂ per year from the Shell Scotford Upgrader for injection in a deep saline formation starting in 2015.]
• In Europe, there is strong public support to reduce CO₂ emissions, but variable support in arenas necessary to propel the technology forward. Consider a recent New York Times article Europe Losing Edge in Carbon Capture Technology which outlined the closing or delay of various CCS projects while also highlighting the many reasons why CCS should not be taken off the table. For one, Europe 'remains bound' by its climate change targets; and two without CCS the current energy mix will radically change. ENGO Network Member Chris Littlecott of Green Alliance says that despite recent setbacks, the potential still exists for demonstration projects to receive public funding support during the course of 2012. The UK will launch its own CCS demonstration program in the first half of the year, while the European Union’s NER300 process aims to agree funding for projects by year end. He says that European momentum on CCS could depend in large part on how successful these efforts are. ENGO Network member Svend Søyland with Bellona Foundation adds that according to the new EU Energy Roadmap 2050, CCS and carbon-negative approaches are inevitable components of EU policy to fulfill the EU commitment. Europe now has a challenging responsibility to find longer lasting, effective and sufficient financial mechanisms for CCS.
• In the United States, action from the Environmental Protection Agency (e.g., finalization of two federal rules related to geologic storage) and six states that enacted CCS legislation, along with Department of Energy project grants, reflects meaningful progress in terms of CCS development. Enhanced oil recovery is already playing an important role in making some of these projects viable, and has the potential to spur large-scale CCS deployment. There are nearly 100 projects injecting CO₂ underground for EOR, with six of these classified as 'full CCS' based on Global CCS Institute categorization. Many other CCS projects are in the planning stages.
• Australia and China also have CCS projects in various phases of operation and planning. As well, Australia’s introduction of a carbon price last year could spur new CCS interest. ENGO Network Member Sarah Forbes with World Resources Institute says that in addition to ongoing significant research efforts related to CCS, China has several pilot demonstration projects in operation, including Huaneng’s Shidongkou station near Shanghai, which captures CO₂ from a supercritical PC plant.

As previously stated, CCS development will move forward more rapidly in those regions with strong industrial, public and political support. Our collective goal will be to ensure that such development includes appropriate attention to long-term safety and effectiveness.