I have known Bellona for many years. They do a great job, in Norway and abroad. There is no doubt that Bellona has been of great value for creating environmental awareness, both among the public and politicians. As a civil servant I may not always have agreed with the methods they have chosen to present their message. That is a normal reflection of the different roles of Government and NGOs.
Bellona has for more than 20 years made numerous contributions of extremely important benefit to the environment. I am therefore particularly pleased that Bellona has now extended its activities to Greece.
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On today’s topic, Carbon Capture and Storage, I want to say the following:
Through further development of CCS technology, an indispensable contribution can be made to reducing CO2-emissions and thus to limiting global warming.
The Norwegian Government organised a High-level International Conference in Bergen last May entitled Fighting Climate Change with Carbon Capture and Storage. There was a focused discussion on CCS as a key mitigation tool.
One of the messages from the Bergen conference is that carbon capture and storage is a key step in the transition to a low-emission society, that will still allow for sustainable economic growth.
Until the global economy is based on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and that must be our ambition, but until then, we need to reduce emissions from the production and use of coal, oil and natural gas.
This is why the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency, and most of the high-level leaders, experts and NGOs present in Bergen repeatedly stated that the solution offered by carbon capture and storage is crucial for combating global warming.
Carbon capture and storage has today the greatest potential to substantially reduce CO₂ emissions from coal-fired power plants, and should thus be of particular interest also to Greece. I see, of course, that there are some storage challenges in this country, but I believe there are ways to cope with them.
The UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December is a golden opportunity for explicitly including CCS as a key climate mitigation technology. Funding mechanisms for demonstrating CCS and other mitigation technologies – allowing for global awareness-raising and specific capacity-building for interested countries – are needed. Copenhagen is an opportunity that should not be missed.
I wish you all a successful Round Table on CCS, and I wish Bellona great success in Greece.
Athens 24.10.09