Who is backing CCS ?

 

The short answer is:

- Producers of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas)

- Producers of plants to capture, transport, injection, storage and monitoring,

- Major energy companies in most parts of the world,

- Public and private research institutions.

Most of the Western world's politicians endorse CCS for various reasons such as eg. its capabilities to secure large scale energy supply and economic growth. CCS, still far from having found its final form technologically and economically, has led to the formation of a number of interest groups, among which CSLF (Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum) plays a special role as the global spokes-organization for CCS.

CSLF currently has 22 member countries:

Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, European Commission, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Korea Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

The main purpose of CSLF is stated on the organization's website:

" The Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum is an international climate change initiative that is focused on development of improved cost-effective technologies for the separation and capture of carbon dioxide for its transport and long-term safe storage. The purpose of the CSLF is to make these technologies broadly available internationally; and to identify and address wider issues relating to carbon capture and storage. This could include promoting the appropriate technical, political, and regulatory environments for the development of such technology. Membership is open to national governmental entities that are significant producers or users of fossil fuel and that have a commitment to invest resources in research, development and demonstration activities in carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies. "

The list of stakeholders include producers of oil, coal and gas, energy companies, research institutions, consultants and NGOs etc.

The political support for CCS in the Western world is massive. A number of statements from energy companies, politicians and organizations gives the impression of a very broad support base. See these Quotations on CCS.

The underlying premise in all of the quoted statements is that fossil fuels will and shall continue to play a decisive role in world energy supply and that economic growth is unimaginable without fossil energy.

This opens up for a discussion about the fundamentals of the world's energy future. Behind the above mentioned premise lies a second even more basic and largely unchallenged assumption: a world without economic growth is unlikely, even if economic growth as we know it is the prime suspect of the catastrophic climate changes that faces the world in the future.