EU To Help China Bury Carbon In Climate Fight
Date: 26-Jun-09
Country: LUXEMBOURG
Author: Pete Harrison
LUXEMBOURG - Europe has started moves to help China develop technology to trap and bury carbon dioxide (CO2) underground in the fight against global warming.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), a process of burying harmful gases, is seen by some as a potential silver bullet to curb coal-fired power plants' emissions, which are multiplying rapidly and threaten to heat the atmosphere to dangerous levels.
Funding technology could play a key role in securing China's support for a global deal on climate change in Copenhagen this December.
"The joint efforts of the EU and China are key to the success of the post-2012 climate change negotiations in Copenhagen," European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement.
While the technologies exist, utilities are reluctant to build CCS power stations without public funding because of the cost of the extra equipment.
The extra cost for a new 400 megawatt power plant would be between 730 million and 980 million euros ($1-1.4 billion), depending on the technology used, the European Commission said.
If China introduces a carbon market to make polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions, that would leave a funding gap of between 300 million and 550 million euros to make the new technology competitive, it added.
The EU-China Near Zero Emissions Coal (NZEC) proposal will initially tap into about 50 million euros of existing EU development funding, but will also seek support from industry and taxpayers.
The Commission launched a consultation process on how finance and technology might be collected and delivered.
"Action by developed and developing countries alike is essential to ensure global warming is kept below the danger level of 2 degrees Celsius," European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in the statement.
Highly polluting coal covers about 70 percent of China's energy needs, and is likely to remain the country's predominant energy source, a Commission document said.
(Editing by Anthony Barker)