On behalf of the Government
of Canada and of our Prime Minister, the Right
Honourable Paul Martin, it is my privilege
to address the most authoritative scientific
advisory body on climate change science in
the world.
It is particularly timely that I have the
opportunity to talk to you as you are about
to consider the Special Report on Carbon Dioxide
Capture and Storage which, I understand, is
to be tabled this morning. Canada wants to
play a key role in the development and deployment
of this promising technology.
And I am pleased to do it in Montreal, which
will be hosting the United Nations Climate
Change Conference: 2005, from November 28
to December 9.
A leading scientific body, a technology we
can’t do without, a conference that must be
a success, these are the three important topics
that I want to talk about.
1. The World’s debt to the IPCC
Humankind is the great beneficiary of the
knowledge and expertise embodied in the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). You have been
providing governments worldwide with the guidance
and direction required to take action on the
most significant environmental issue that
our world faces today and will face in the
years to come.
It is only 17 years ago that the world recognized
that human activities were starting to interfere
with the global climate. That year – 1988
– marked the establishment of the IPCC. Since
then you have helped policy makers better
understand the problem, assess risks, weigh
costs and decide on courses of action to address
climate change. The evolution in our understanding
of the science of climate change is reflected
in the three IPCC assessments completed to
date.
In 11000, your first assessment led to two
conclusions:
• that emissions from human activities are
substantially increasing atmospheric concentrations
of greenhouse gases;
• and that this will result in an additional
warming of our earth’s surface.
This report triggered Rio and served as the
basis for arriving at the Framework Convention
on Climate Change.
Ten years ago, the second report concluded
that “the balance of evidence suggests a discernible
human influence on global climate.” This assessment
was endorsed at the second conference of the
Parties in 1996 and formed the basis of the
international negotiations around the Kyoto
Protocol that followed in 1997.
In 2001, your third assessment’s key message
to the world was that “there is new and stronger
evidence that most of the warming observed
over the last 50 years is attributable to
human activities.”
These three reports carry substantial weight,
drawing on the input of more than 2000 scientists
worldwide, including Canada. Their monumental
work has provided an unprecedented global
consensus on an environmental issue. Seventeen
national science academies, including the
Royal Society of Canada and the U.S. National
Academy of Science, consider that the work
of the IPCC “represents the consensus of the
international scientific community on climate
change science”.
Canada is proud to have been an active member
of the IPCC since 1988 and intends to remain
a full participant. More than 30 Canadians,
about half from government and half non-government,
contributed to the third assessment report.
Today, 28 Canadians have lead roles for the
Fourth Assessment report which is scheduled
to be released in two years’ time.
I want to tell you today that the government
to which I belong is committed to continue
basing its domestic climate change plan on
the best possible scientific information.
The government of Canada has high expectations
about your future work and will stay closely
in touch with the IPCC.
Speaking about your work, I consider that
the special report that you will be tabling
today on carbon capture and storage is of
tremendous importance. The government of Canada
is looking forward to reviewing its results
and to acting on its outcomes, in cooperation
with the international community. Let me tell
you why.
2. Carbon Capture and Storage
One should never say that carbon capture and
storage is “the” solution. Here in Canada,
we have expertise in all kinds of energy and
in various environmental technologies. We
know that the solution to our climate change
problem does not reside in one technology
only.
For example, Quebec, my province, which is
already known worldwide for its achievements
in hydro electricity, is moving ahead and
is currently investing in innovative technologies,
with the focus on renewable energy, including
wind power.
The world must deploy existing environmental
technologies and at the same time develop
new innovative ones. There is little doubt
that carbon dioxide capture and storage is
a technology that we need.
The geologic storage of CO2 has the potential
to be one of the single most transformative
actions that can be taken to deeply reduce
global greenhouse gas emissions in the decades
ahead. Until other technologies are sufficient
to stabilize greenhouse gases at acceptable
levels, carbon sequestration will allow us
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while fossil
fuels continue to supply most of our energy
needs.
The fact is that fossil energy is here to
stay for a long time. It is too large a part
of the global economy to be realistically
eliminated from the world’s energy mix in
our foreseeable future. According to the International
Energy Agency’s 2004 World Energy Outlook,
fossil fuels will continue to dominate global
energy use.
In 2030, the share of fossil fuels in total
primary energy use will be 82%, that is 35%
for oil, 25% for natural gas and 22% for coal,
roughly the same percentages as today. This
is what will happen unless our energy consumption
and production patterns undergo dramatic transformation.
In any case, one sees how much we need CO2
capture and storage to harness hydrocarbons
in a climate-friendly manner. The issue is
not whether this technology should be used,
but how to get the widest possible application
now and in the future.
Geological capture and storage technology
is mature, could become increasingly cost-effective,
and if done properly, can store CO2 in perpetuity
in geologic formations, in depleted oil and
gas reservoirs and in deep saline aquifers.
Carbon sequestration has the potential to
achieve large-scale greenhouse gas emission
reductions without massive economic disruption.
CO2 capture has other benefits as it can be
used to enhance oil recovery for conventional
oil fields and to enhance coalbed methane
recovery.
Coal is a case in point. The world has huge
reserves of coal. These reserves are going
to play an important role in the global energy
future for decades to come. The capture of
CO2 and its storage in geologic formations
could make a difference. It has great potential
in making clean coal technology truly clean.
New coal fired power plants and new oil and
gas extraction and processing facilities should
be designed and built with the premise that
if CO2 capture and storage technology is not
to be incorporated now, it will likely have
to be during the useful life of the facility.
Given Canada’s oil sands and heavy oil reserves
second only to Saudi Arabia, carbon capture
and storage is an important component of Canada’s
Climate Change Plan to honour our Kyoto commitment.
The Government of Canada is working with provincial
governments and the private sector with two
goals:
• our first goal is to establish an integrated
CO2 capture and storage infrastructure system
in Canada;
• our second goal is to demonstrate the commercial-scale
use of clean coal technology as part of this
integrated system.
One of the means to reach these goals is the
Partnership Fund, included in Canada’s Climate
Change Plan, itself a key element of Prime
Minister Paul Martin’s great Project Green.
The Government of Canada has already made
significant investments in carbon capture
and storage, including the Weyburn oil field
in Saskatchewan – the world’s largest sequestration
research project – and other projects such
as CANMET and the International Test Centre
for CO2 capture with chemical solvents.
A number of major players in the Alberta oil
sands are examining the possibilities of setting
up a cooperative effort to capture and sell
carbon dioxide from the oil sands. The capacity
for geological storage of CO2 in western Canada
over the longer term is very large, of the
order of more than 200 Megatonnes per year,
and potential also exists in Eastern Canada.
Significant capacity exists in a number of
other countries including some key developing
countries as well. Global application of the
technology is substantial; for this reason,
Canada is a world leader in carbon sequestration
research and technologies, and will continue
to be.
Conclusion
I will conclude on my main point: the world
owes you a lot, but expects even more of you.
Your reports, such as the one expected today
on carbon capture and storage, are essential
in helping countries, including Canada, to
advance their goals of broader access to innovative
and existing technologies.
In preparation for the soon-to-come Montreal
Climate Conference, I have been meeting with
decision-makers from around the world. Everywhere
I go, I hear about your work. Expectations
are so high.
You certainly know, for instance, that there
is hope that the IPCC will provide additional
scientific information on what an appropriate
target for Greenhouse gas emissions reductions
should be to avoid dangerous consequences
for humanity. I am also hearing that your
scientific contribution should, more and more,
go beyond mitigation and address the growing
issue of adaptation to climate change.
In Canada’s Arctic, for example, changes in
climate are already evident and adaptation
solutions need to be developed right now.
Indigenous communities in the Canadian North,
who have a long history and extensive knowledge
of their regions, have already reported thinning
sea ice, the presence of animals, birds and
insects not previously found in their region,
significant depletions in some traditional
species as well as infrastructure at risk.
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report
has already made a significant contribution
to increasing our knowledge of the impacts
of climate changes in the Arctic, and The
International Polar Year, 2007-2008,will be
an opportunity to expand research on these
impacts on the North.
As part of our preparations for the Montreal
conference, the Government of Canada has been
consulting with many countries and international
experts to determine what the next steps to
global action should be. What we heard is
that environmental effectiveness, broad participation,
sustainable contributions to development goals,
adaptation, a strong global carbon market
and realizing the full potential of technology
are key ingredients to our success in the
coming years.
The Montreal Climate Conference will confirm
it again: to achieve these climate goals,
we need sound science. Based on your impressive
record, I know that you will continue delivering
the knowledge that will guide our decisions.
So there is a good chance that after the Montreal
Climate Conference, we will ask you again
to sharpen your pencils.
