Carbon capture and sequestration

Because the transition away from coal and other fossil-based fuels will take time, EDF supports the development of techniques that substantially reduce emissions — especially those that reduce carbon dioxide (CO2), a major cause of climate change. One method in particular has the potential to make a huge contribution in reducing CO2: carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), also sometimes referred to as carbon capture and storage.

CCS is a process that prevents CO2 from being released into the atmosphere through capture and storage underground in geologic formations. Several CCS techniques are proven and viable, already being deployed today. Carbon dioxide has been captured from industrial processes for many decades. And for many decades, the oil business has injected millions of tons of CO2 per year for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), where oil not recovered in the initial withdrawal process is pushed to the surface by injecting CO2.

A price on carbon emissions would help drive widespread deployment, but already many demonstration projects exist, most notably: In Salah in Algeria, Sleipner in the North Sea, and Weyburn in North America.

While there are many challenges to CCS – including an incomplete regulatory framework, high costs and in some regions, the challenge of finding suitable sequestration sites – there are also opportunities. With job creation and CO2 reduction, CCS has potential to be a win-win solution for the economy and the environment.

Carbon capture and sequestration workshops

Since 2007 EDF has partnered with Natural Resources Defense Council to increase CCS public awareness and education. The workshop presentations below were filmed on March 5, 2009 in New York City.

• James Dooley
  Senior Staff Engineer, Joint Global Change Research Institute
  Presentation: Overview of Selected Issues Associated with the Scale of the Climate Change Challenge and the Potential Role of Large Scale Commercial Deployment of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Technologies
  Video | PDF
• Sally Benson
  Executive Director, Global Climate & Energy Project, Stanford University
  Presentation: Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration in Deep Geological Formations
  Video | PDF
• Julio Friedmann
  Leader, Energy & Environment Directorate, Carbon Management Program, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  Presentation: Carbon Sequestration Risks and Hazards: What we know and what we don’t know
  Video (presentation given by Sally Benson)| PDF
• Gardiner Hill
  Director, BP Alternative Energy Global Carbon Sequestration Technology Group
  Presentation: Carbon Capture & Sequestration: Views from Industry
  Video | PDF
• Caroline Angoorly
  Head of Environmental Markets - North America J.P. Morgan, Global Commodities
  Presentation: Carbon Capture & Sequestration: Views from Industry, Part II
  Video| PDF
• Tim Bradley
  President, Kinder-Morgan CO2 Company
  Presentation: Carbon Capture & Sequestration: The Enhanced Oil Recovery Story
  Video | PDF
• Ronald T. Evans, Senior Vice President, Reservoir Engineering, Denbury Resources
  Presentation: Carbon Capture & Sequestration: The Enhanced Oil Recovery Story
  Video | PDF
• Mark Brownstein
  Managing Director of Business Partnerships, Environmental Defense Fund
  Presentation: CCS Policy Context
  Video | PDF
• David Hawkins
  Director, Climate Programs, Natural Resources Defense Council
  Presentation: CCS Policy Needs: Reconciling Coal and Climate
  Video | PDF
• Stephen Heare
  Director, Drinking Water Protection Division, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Environmental Protection Agency
  Presentation: EPA’s Geologic Sequestration Rulemaking
  Video | PDF
  
• Howard Herzog
  Principal Researcher, CCS Technologies Program, Laboratory for Energy & the Environment, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  Presentation: Carbon Capture & Sequestration Economics
  Video | PDF
  
• Susan Hovorka
  Principal Investigator, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas
  Presentation: Key Field Studies and Conclusions
  Video | PDF

Third-party CCS resources

• Global CCS Institute
  Created in 2009, the Institute works to accelerate deployment of CCS and build public confidence in this carbon-reducing technology.
• Guidelines for Carbon Dioxide Capture, Transport, and Storage
  World Resources Institute convened a diverse group of more than 80 stakeholders (including EDF) to create these guidelines for safety and efficiency.
• Carbon Capture and Sequestration Leadership Forum
  CCSLF is an international initiative to facilitate the development and deployment of CCS.
• IPCC Special Report, Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage
  The IPCC issued a special report in 2005, bringing together scientists from around the world to evaluate CCS as a potential portfolio option for the mitigation of climate change.