Challenges to the Implementation of New Technologies: the Case of Carbon Capture and Storage

CCS should be recognised as one of the forms of various “clean fossil fuel technology”. Other options, such as reducing fossil fuel consumption by adopting technologies to raise efficiencies in existing plants, or adding new facilities with higher generation efficiency, should be taken into consideration as well.

CCS is a promising CO2 emissions reduction technology that could play an important role in efforts to limit global warming, especially in the timeframe beyond 2030. Long-term, industrial scale experience with various CCS technologies provides confidence that CCS can be deployed safely with secure storage. However CCS is currently relatively expensive and the technological, commercial and regulatory uncertainties facing CCS must be addressed before there can be widespread deployment. Above all else, large-scale investment in CCS is unlikely to be forthcoming until a well-defined regulatory framework is established and sufficient economic incentives are available. More detailed aspects of regulation will only be determined once there is a sufficient body of operating experience and the environmental uncertainties associated with the technology are reduced. Progress in reducing these uncertainties, as well as the technological and commercial uncertainties, is unlikely to be rapid in the absence of experience gained with a number of large-scale demonstration plants that validate the various potential technical options.