The G8 industrial powers said yesterday they hoped to launch 20 large projects to bury greenhouse gas by 2010 and aimed to broadly deploy the technology a decade later.
G8 energy ministers, meeting in Japan, said in a statement that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which stops emissions at their root, played a “critical role” in “tackling the global challenge of climate change and energy security.”
The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based energy security body set up in 1974 after the first oil crisis, has recommended commercial use of the carbon dioxide-burying technology by 2020.
“We strongly support the recommendation that 20 large-scale CCS demonstration projects need to be launched globally by 2010 … with a view to supporting technology development and cost reduction for the beginning of broad deployment of CCS by 2020,” the statement said.
The G8 groups Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, Russia and the US. The G8 ministerial talks were later expanded here to include China, India and South Korea.
The 11-nation joint statement said they “will work towards the creation of an enabling environment for the broad deployment.”
But the idea of CCS is hotly debated, even among environmentalists.
Greenpeace, which published a report early last month titled False hope. Why carbon capture and storage won’t save the climate, is spearheading the opposition.
Its long list of complaints includes the argument that the method consumes a lot of energy, is expensive and there is the risk of leaks.
Specialists say the future of the method depends on its cost.
Carbon capture and storage currently costs around 60 euros (US$95) per avoided tonne of carbon dioxide.
But experts say that cost would have to be at least halved to make it a viable alternative to industries, which can buy carbon-dioxide emissions rights for about 25 euros per tonne.
The 11 countries, which together guzzle nearly two-thirds of the world’s energy, also voiced concern over record oil prices as Japan warned the world could plunge into recession.
“The 11 countries shared concern about the soaring crude oil prices,” Japanese Energy Minister Akira Amari, the host of the meeting, said, reading from a joint statement.
He said the countries also agreed to set up a new framework — called the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation — under which they can share ideas about how to save energy.
“If we leave this situation as it is, it could lead to a recession of the world economy,” Amari said earlier in his opening address.
“Ensuring energy security, including stability of the oil market, has become one of the top priorities for every country,” he said.
The meeting came after oil prices on Friday posted their highest ever one-day gain of nearly US$11, hitting a new record of US$138.54 a barrel in New York trade.
Oil prices have soared five-fold since 2003 due to a variety of factors including turbulence in the Middle East and rising demand in emerging economies such as China and India.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from