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Renate Duckat and Manfred Treber
October 2004
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There are two major strategies
of carbon sequestration: 1.) Enhancing the uptake of carbon by the biosphere,
e.g. by planting trees. 2.) Using technologies of Carbon Dioxide Capture
and Storage (CCS) in the process of producing electricity or hydrogen.
The latest studies and scenarios show that the development and deployment
of CCS could significantly assist in stabilizing the rising atmospheric
concentration of greenhouse gases. However, this new technology which is
still in a prototype stage has several flaws. In the assessment presented
here, the pros and cons of CCS are weighed from an NGO viewpoint, evaluating
the three specific processes of capture, transport, and storage of CO2.
CCS is evaluated within the broader portfolio of climate-policy instruments
as a serious option to prevent climate change. This assessment is based
on technological and scientific information documented in the report of
an IPCC workshop held in Regina, Canada, November 2002 (See http://arch.rivm.nl/env/int/ipcc/pages_media/ccs2002.html
for full conference report. A paper in German, summarizing the workshop
report and including the assessment by Germanwatch presented here can be
accessed at www.germanwatch.org/rio/ccs04.htm).