What is carbon capture? Inside the tech that sucks CO2 underground

What is carbon capture? How the UK government plans to slash the amount of CO2 being released into the atmosph  Daily Mail

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Jul 31, 2023 - 15:00
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What is carbon capture? Inside the tech that sucks CO2 underground

What is carbon capture? How the UK government plans to slash the amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere by catching it and storing it under the North Sea

By Jonathan Chadwick For Mailonline

Updated:

Introduction

  1. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technology aimed at reducing carbon emissions and combating global warming.
  2. The UK government has announced plans to build two CCS facilities as part of a £20 billion investment to reduce the country’s carbon footprint.
  3. However, CCS has faced criticism for its reliance on fossil fuels and potential environmental risks.

What is Carbon Capture and Storage?

  • CCS is a technology designed to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and store them permanently underground.
  • The captured CO2 can be stored in underground caverns or porous rock formations.
  • CCS has the potential to store large amounts of carbon, helping to reduce overall CO2 emissions.

How Does it Work?

  • CCS involves capturing CO2 emissions at the source, such as power plants and industrial facilities.
  • These emissions are then transported to a storage site via pipelines or other means.
  • The storage site is typically an underground cavern or porous rock formation.
  • The CO2 is permanently stored at the site and monitored to prevent leaks.

Controversies and Concerns

  • CCS has been criticized for promoting continued use of fossil fuels instead of renewable energy sources.
  • There are concerns about the safety of storing CO2 underground and its potential impact on water supplies and seismic activity.
  • The long-term environmental effects of CCS are not fully understood.
  • The process of capturing and storing CO2 requires significant energy, which may reduce the efficiency of power plants.

Current Use and Future Plans

  • CCS has been in operation since 1972 in the US, with several facilities successfully capturing and storing CO2.
  • In the UK, plans are underway to build CCS facilities in Scotland and the Humber region.
  • These facilities will be used to store captured CO2 under the North Sea.
  • The UK government has also granted new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea, leading to criticism from some experts.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action

    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
    • Target 13.5: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
    • Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
    • Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer, and development actions
    • Indicator 13.3.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning into primary, secondary, and tertiary curricula
    • Indicator 13.5.1: Mobilized amount of United States dollars per year between 2020 and 2025 accountable towards the $100 billion commitment

  2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
    • Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
    • Indicator 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption
    • Indicator 7.3.1: Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP

Analysis

  1. SDG 13: Climate Action

    The article discusses carbon capture and storage as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming. This aligns with SDG 13, which aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

    The targets under SDG 13 that can be identified based on the article’s content are:

    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
    • Target 13.5: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible

    The article mentions the UK government’s plan to invest £20 billion in carbon capture and storage facilities, which aligns with Target 13.5.

    The indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets are:

    • Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
    • Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer, and development actions
    • Indicator 13.3.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning into primary, secondary, and tertiary curricula
    • Indicator 13.5.1: Mobilized amount of United States dollars per year between 2020 and 2025 accountable towards the $100 billion commitment

  2. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

    The article mentions that carbon capture and storage is a greener alternative to releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which aligns with SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

    The targets under SDG 7 that can be identified based on the article’s content are:

    • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
    • Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency

    The indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets are:

    • Indicator 7.2.1: Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption
    • Indicator 7.3.1: Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 13: Climate Action
  • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
  • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
  • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
  • Target 13.5: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to

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    Source: dailymail.co.uk

     

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