“If we collectively start framing the use of carbon capture technologies as a solution that is key for sustainable development and climate justice, then maybe states would be willing to not only finance these projects but also start directing them towards desired outcomes. Similarly to for example healthcare, childcare or waste management, climate change mitigation should be seen as something essential for our society,” says Lina Lefstad, recent doctorate at Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies.
With a focus on Europe, she has analysed how carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies could be implemented to ensure that countries meet the Paris Agreement target of staying below an increase of 1,5 degrees, while also contributing to sustainable development and the protection of vulnerable people.
CCS are technologies that capture carbon dioxide from industrial processes or power plants, transport, and store it deep underground. They are seen as key to mitigate climate change and to decarbonise heavy emitting industries. Since they were first developed in 1996, the technology has been proven to work, yet the costs are currently very high, and challenges around how to best transport and store the carbon remain.
Three recommendations for how to best use CCS technologies
The thesis identifies a number of key recommendations for how to use CCS technologies in a sustainable and equitable way. Firstly, carbon capture technologies should be primarily governed by nation states. According to Lina Lefstad, the current approach, which is to let the market drive the development and expansion of these technologies, is not working.
As an example, she highlights a recent flagship carbon and capture project in Norway that explored how to store and capture emissions from the energy-company Equinor (formerly Statoil). The Norwegian state funded the project with 22 billion Norwegian krona for its initial five years, but after this funding period was over, the company’s plan is now to wait for more demand-driven expansion.
“These technologies were first launched around 30 years ago but have not yet been implemented large-scale. Trusting that the market will drive this development is naïve, since projects like this incur huge costs and have yet to make a profit that is appealing enough for private industry over the longer term,” says Lina Lefstad.
She continues:
“Having nation states governing and financing CCS infrastructure could be the push to deployment we need to be able to start counting on CCS as a mitigation tool. The scope for synergies pertaining to storage, transportation and capture is greater, than if these projects are driven by individual actors. It is also easier for state actors to do this large-scale, which can further impact both the cost and how fast the technology innovates. In time, maybe the state can invest less, and the market take over more, but we need to reach a large enough scale first and set clear rules for where we want the technology to be used.”
Deploy it to hard-to-abate industries
Secondly, the thesis argues that the technologies should only be deployed where it is currently not otherwise possible to reduce emissions completely: for example, the steel, cement, transport or chemical industries, or so called hard-to-abate industries. Finally, they should be put to use in such as a way that they benefit all of society and do not negatively impact for example energy access or energy prices for vulnerable groups.
Lina Lefstad highlights how these technologies have been heavily criticised for supporting the continued use of fossil fuels. It has been argued how their promise of capturing carbon distracts companies from working actively to reduce emissions – even though they are not implemented full scale yet.
“The best use of carbon capture and storage is to apply it to sectors where we cannot otherwise get rid of all the emissions: to manage so called residual emissions. What we should not do is to simply carry on as normal and see them as way to avoid phasing out fossil fuels in general. From talking with industry actors and policymakers over the last four years, I found that basically nobody in
Europe believes that CCS can avoid fossil fuel phase out. This is very positive. The challenge lies in how to roll it out at a meaningful scale.”
Research departs from justice principles guiding climate action
Her work departs from the justice principles guiding climate action identified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that countries have re-committed to in the signing of the Paris Agreement. One important principle is that countries that have historically emitted more and have greater financial capacity should also do more to ensure the world meets its climate targets. Most European countries fall into this category.
“I am confident that these technologies can make a big difference for climate mitigation, if they are used in line with a justice approach and deployed where it can really make a difference. Europe has the chance to lead this work through its strong climate policy and commitment to human rights, social justice and environmental protection.”
Download the thesis: From Show Pony to Working Horse : Reimagining Carbon Capture and Storage for Just Climate Change Mitigation at lub.lu.se
