This week, ministers from 20 countries (including the United States, China and the United Kingdom) came together in London to tackle one of the most pressing challenges to a global deal on climate change and a subject that is critical to the livelihoods of people in Colorado: coal.
For people who are concerned about the climate as well as keeping the lights on and fostering energy independence, coal is the fuel that must be cleaned up. It is one of the most carbon intensive fuels available. But the global community will remain reliant on coal because it is the mainstay of the electricity grid in so many countries around the world. Coal is cheap and abundant.
In the United Kingdom, coal provides a third of the electricity. In other countries the number is much higher. Last week I was in Poland where 95 percent of the country’s electricity is generated from coal. And in Colorado, more than 66 percent of electricity is derived from coal. It is very hard to see a secure energy future for the world – or for Colorado – that does not involve coal.
Last week’s international conference, jointly hosted by the UK and Norway, focused on the technology that can solve the dilemma: carbon capture and storage (known as “CCS”).
CCS has the potential to remove 90 percent of the CO2 emissions from coal-fired power stations. The technology removes CO2 from the gas that is emitted from fossil fuel combustion, and safely transports it and injects it deep underground into suitable, permanent geologic storage sites.
CCS can make coal a low-carbon fuel. Without it, the costs of coal could rise substantially.
The challenge is that this is a new and complex technology. It will take concerted action to transition from the small scale demonstrations that are currently operating worldwide to the default design for our power stations. That technological leap will have to come quickly if the world is to meet the urgent climate change challenge. And that leap will require international collaboration to ensure that CCS becomes an option for the biggest users of fossil fuels globally.
The UK is implementing a long-term plan for deployment of CCS. We have proposed the toughest requirements in the world on new coal-fired power plants and have plans to support up to 4 full commercial scale CCS plants to demonstrate the technology.
CCS is also a “win” for the economy through the creation of new jobs for CCS research, development and construction, and ensuring the continued vibrancy of economies that rely on coal.
There are no second chances with climate change, and there is not a day to waste between now and the international climate change negotiations that will take place in Copenhagen this December. All opportunities must be seized to achieve the most ambitious, effective and fair international climate change deal possible. And CCS is such an opportunity.
Ed Miliband is the British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
