STÉPHANE DION UNDERLINES THE POTENTIAL OF CARBON DIOXIDE CAPTURE AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY TO HELP CANADA HONOUR ITS KYOTO

26/09/2005 – In a speech delivered before members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Federal Environment Minister Stéphane Dion underlined the important role that CO2 capture and storage technology could play in helping Canada meet its Kyoto commitment.
His speech was delivered prior to the tabling of an important special report of the IPCC on this technology.
“The advice that will follow from this Special Report will provide another excellent example of how the IPCC works to inform decision-makers about technology’s potential contribution to the world’s effort to reduce emissions of GHGs. Canada’s intention to reduce its emissions of GHG’s by 270 megatonnes by the year 2012 is set in our climate change plan, a key component of Prime Minister Paul Martin’s Project Green”, said Minister Dion. “Canada is very supportive of the technology of carbon dioxide capture and storage - an important option for GHG mitigation”, added Minister Dion.
"This report demonstrates the global potential for a technology Canada has taken a lead role in developing," said the Honourable R. John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. "While we are actively promoting renewable, clean energy technologies, and other measures to reduce emissions. Canada and the world will continue to use fossil fuels for a long time. We need to pursue technologies, such as this, which will reduce the emissions associated with burning fossil fuels."
CO2 capture and storage technologies are transformative technologies that can provide a means of reducing atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide while fossil fuels continue to supply some of our energy needs. Therefore they are an important potential mitigation option in our efforts to respond to the challenge of climate change.
Canada is a world leader in the development of the technology and engineering solutions required to explore the potential of capturing and storing CO2 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. The Government of Canada has already made significant investments in this area including the Weyburn oil field in Saskatchewan – the world’s largest sequestration research project.
The capacity for geological storage of CO2 in western Canada over the longer term is extremely large, of the order of more than 200 Mt per year and potential also exists in Eastern Canada.
The IPCC meeting in Montreal comes two months before representatives of more than 180 countries and 7000 other participants from around the world will meet for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in that city. The Montreal Climate Change Conference, where measures to strengthen the Kyoto Protocol will be discussed, is the first gathering of countries that have signed and/or ratified the Kyoto Protocol since the Protocol came into effect February 16, 2005.