The Climate Action Network Europe believes that:

• Climate policy cannot wait for any one technology. Renewable energy sources and energy efficiency and conservation are proven, mature and environmentally friendly solutions to tackling the problem of climate change.
  
• CO2 Capture and Storage must not divert public investments or political attention away from renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  
• In Europe, fossil fuel power stations including those labelled as ‘clean coal’ which emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases should not be built. Fossil fuel-powered station which already emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases need to close down with the next decade or so. Renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency and energy conservation should always be prioritised before building any new fossil power stations.
  
• CO2 Capture and Storage may have a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing fossil fuel power station, provided that the risk and uncertainties associated with CO2 Capture and Storage are addressed.

CAN believes that climate action must be driven by the aim of keeping global warming as far below 2oC as possible in order to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. This means reducing greenhouse emissions in industrialised countries by at least 30% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

In order to achieve such reductions, profound, long-term structural changes are needed, especially related to the use of fossil fuels. Climate policy cannot wait for any one technology – we need a package of options to reduce the impact of climate change. NGOs therefore call for an informed public debate about CCS technology.

Among the key concerns NGOs have about carbon capture are:

• Leakage rates need to be extremely low or the benefits to the climate will be negligible. Carbon dioxide in high concentrations asphyxiates. Slow leakage through soils and catastrophic leaks from pipelines can all affect human and ecosystem health.

• CCS must not divert investment or attention away from renewable energy and energy efficiency which are proven, presently less risky and have many other additional benefits.

• The widespread application of CCS could result in the continued (and possibly increased) reliance on fossil fuels with a range of local environmental and social impacts associated with extraction, transportation and burning fossil fuels.

• The IPCC report found that “sustained high concentrations of CO2 would cause mortality of ocean organisms” . Dumping of CO2 waste in the ocean has also raised serious concerns of the impact on sea-life, particularly the sea-bed which has been proven to be as rich in biodiversity as a tropical rainforest.

• Inclusion of NGOs and the public in discussions on climate technologies is necessary. There has been a tendency for certain industry groups and some governments to study NGO involvement as a risk to be managed rather than stakeholders in the policy debate.

NGO position on Ocean Storage
The disposal of carbon dioxide in the ocean often called ocean storage or sequestration, is one of the options under discussion in industry and academic circles for as an end-of-pipe technology to remove greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The proposal to inject CO2 into the ocean, where it is meant to be taken up by the waters, or kept at the bottom of the sea in liquid form, has received particular attention in 2002, because of the failure of a prestigious field project to receive permission to go ahead from government authorities in Hawaii and Norway.

The IPCC Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage discusses ocean storage. CO2 would be directly injected into the deep ocean (at depths greater than 1,000m). Ocean storage has not yet been deployed or demonstrated at a pilot stage and is still in the research phase.

The key concerns of ocean storage include:
• great uncertainty over emission reduction effects (carbon uptake in the ocean, leakage, permanence)
• indications towards detrimental effects on marine animal and plant life (acidification, local hotspots, uncertainty about deep-sea life)
• violation of international law regarding the dumping of waste at sea

NGOs call for an end to continuing efforts to research and develop pilot projects and plans for eventual implementation of ocean disposal.

CAN Europe’s work and position
CAN Europe has prepared a position paper on CCS to highlight the key concerns with CCS.

CO2 Carbon Capture and Storage – Greenhouse reduction or denial? Article for Finish newsletter – April 2005

Hotspot – CTAP projects and IPCC special report [nov 05 edition]

Carbon Technology Assessment Project (CTAP)
CAN Europe undertook extensive research on carbon abatement technologies such as CCS and including Hydrogen and fuel cells which can be found here