Media Releases

Media Releases

Paris targets are “melting away” says climate change authority

18th June 2018

Location(s): Japan, Tokyo

Tokyo, embargoed to 9.00am (JST), Monday June 18, 2018: A senior executive of the world authority on carbon capture and storage (CCS) says it is increasingly obvious that Paris climate change targets are “melting away” and cannot be met within the timeframe agreed by 196 signatory countries.

Speaking at the Japan Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Forum in Tokyo, the Global CCS Institute’s Jeff Erikson, said that the impending stock-take of global CO₂emissions and reduction policies taking place at COP24 in Poland this December will show that the world is way off track in meeting below 2°C temperatures by 2030.

Last year’s UN Environment Program Report* stated that national pledges may bring just one third of the reduction in emissions required by 2030.

Meanwhile, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says CO₂ concentrations have reached the highest level in 800,000 years.

“The fact is, huge investment in fossil-fuel production continues at a frenetic pace and the world continues to heat up. As the world heats up, Paris targets melt away.

“Until the world realises that we need to apply every conceivable clean technology to this problem, it will not be solved.

“Independent, reputable analysis has repeatedly shown that CCS must be included in a broader mix of clean technologies.”

Mr Erikson told a packed audience of representatives from government, academia, science and industry, that CCS could make up lost ground if it is more widely embraced and its deployment rapidly accelerated.

“CCS is the only clean technology able to decarbonise many industrial processes and it is now being recognised as the conduit to a new energy economy that includes hydrogen.

“This technology creates jobs, preserves communities and builds nations.”

Mr Erikson said Japan realises the opportunities that lie ahead and he pointed to Japan’s Tomakomai CCS facility and the recently launched Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC), a Japanese/Australian joint venture, as proof of CCS’s potential.

He also referenced the recent announcement by US-based NET Power which has developed a revolutionary technology with Japan’s Toshiba Corporation to produce low-cost electricity from natural gas while generating near-zero atmospheric emissions, including full CO₂ capture.

“This is a breakthrough technology and is one of the most significant developments in CCS technology to date. It makes emission-free power cost competitive with conventional power generation.”

“The tide is turning in CCS’s favour but more needs to be done.”

*UNEP Emissions Gap Report eighth edition (October 2017)

ends

Antonios Papaspiropoulos: +61 401 944 478  antonios.papaspiropoulos@globalccsinstitute.com

Lucy Temple-Smith: +61 466 982 068  lucy.temple-smith@globalccsinstitute.com

Annya Schneider (Brussels): +32 (0) 25503972  annya.schneider@globalccsinstitute.com

About the Global CCS Institute: Our mission is to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a vital technology to tackle climate change and provide energy security. Working with and on behalf of our Members, we drive the adoption of CCS as quickly and cost effectively as possible by sharing expertise, building capacity and providing advice and support so that this vital technology can play its part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our diverse international membership consists of governments, global corporations, small companies, research bodies and nongovernment organisations, committed to CCS as an integral part of a low-carbon future. We are headquartered in Melbourne, Australia with regional offices in Washington DC, Brussels, Beijing and Tokyo. For more information, visit www.globalccsinstitute.com

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