ACCEPTANCE OF CCS UNDER INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND AGREEMENTS

摘要

Reducing the risk of climate change due to anthropogenic CO_2 emissions could be achieved with capture contemporary technologies. Large amounts of CO_2 could be captured with these technologies applied to coal or natural gas power stations. There are two impediments limit to the application of these technologies on a large scale: one is cost that is not low enough to be industrially attractive; and the relates to the availability of CO_2 storage options. Capturing CO_2 without subsequent storage is a non sense because there are extremely limited opportunities for industrial reuse. Various options exist for CO_2 storage over long periods of time such as in sub-sea geological reservoirs, in saline aquifers, in depleted oil and gas fields, in unminable coal seams and in the deep ocean. One of the largest options in terms of capacity on a global scale is that of saline aquifers, which offer the opportunity of storing between 400 and 10,000 Gt C (gigatonnes of carbon). The use of these long-term storage media (apart unminable coal seams) is largely subject to the provisions of international conventions on marine environmental protection. There are several such international conventions that potentially affect the acceptability of the practice of CO_2 storage in the marine environment. This paper summarizes an analysis of J.M. Bewers of existing conventions and major international agreements in the context of ocean storage of CO_2. Its purpose is to indicate where potential impediments to the concept of marine storage of CO_2 are posed by such conventions and agreements and to identify any uncertainties in interpretation requiring resolution prior to any practical application of the marine storage option. The marine storage options considered in the review are storage within the marine hydrosphere, in the seabed and in sub-seabed strata although primary emphasis is given to sub-seabed storage.