The prospect of depleted North Sea oil and gas fields continuing to generate revenue for the UK as storage facilities for capture carbon emissions moved a step closer last week after International Maritime Organisation (IMO) voted in favour of the international ban on the cross-boundary transport of CO2 being lifted.
The repeal of the ban could still take several years to ratify, but experts said it would provide a major boost to the development of international carbon capture and storage (CCS) networks that could see carbon emissions from across Northern Europe captured and stored under the North Sea.
Fifteen nations – including the UK – voted in favour of reforming the London Protocol to allow the transfer of CO2 across national borders, with only China voting against the reform and six countries abstaining.
The changes to the protocol still need to be ratified to come into effect, a move which needs a two-thirds majority vote from signatories to the protocol.
"There's every reason why they should ratify," said Jeff Chapman of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association. "It would be an unusual step for them not to."
Chapman warned EU countries that if they fail to ratify the treaty, they could be contravening the EU's Carbon Capture and Storage directive, which requires member states to do all they can to advance the development of the technology.
The nations have already voted in favour of reforming the London Protocol - and the similar Ospar treaty for Europe – to overturn a ban on sequestering CO2 under the ocean, though the Ospar reform is also yet to be ratified.
Both treaties were initially agreed to prevent the dumping of toxic and radioactive waste at sea, at a time before signatories realised they could also be banning the potentially beneficial sequestration of CO2.
However, a spokesman for the IMO warned that the propsect of the UK effectively renting out carbon storage capabilities to other countries remained several years away. "Ratification depends on national procedures, getting agreement from parliament and so on," he said. "It's a lengthy process and could take years, that's for sure."
From Chinese-funded Texan wind farms to dreams of a North Sea CCS hub, we run down the top stories from the past seven days 06 Nov 2009
Company investigating using increasingly redundant North Sea gas pipes to pump captured CO2 solution into old gas beds 13 Feb 2009
Prototype at Longannet in Scotland represents first-time carbon has been captured from a working UK power station 29 May 2009
Governments join forces to commission new study into offshore carbon sequestration 28 May 2009
Biggest CCS project in the world to operate in natural gas field off West Australian coast 23 Oct 2009
Resolution follows similar decision by Shell shareholders last month 09 Feb 2010
Measures needed to ensure cars do not charge from fossil fuel-powered grid 09 Feb 2010
Researchers use salicornia plants in carbon-negative process to grow biofuels 09 Feb 2010
More news
Friends of the Earth’s biofuels campaigner Kenneth Richter argues that biofuel targets are a distraction from tried-and-tested ways of reducing transport emissions 09 Feb 2010
Trewin Restorick wonders if the concept du jour of "nudging" behaviour change can help curb UK carbon emissions 08 Feb 2010
From feed in tariffs to vanishing top soil, we run down the top stories from the past week 08 Feb 2010 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
