Remember the ridiculous debate of a number of years ago to get nuclear power as part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)? Parties resisted pressure from the nuclear industry and kept nuclear power out of the CDM and out of the Kyoto Protocol.

There are interesting parallels with the current carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the CDM debate. Australia, the world’s largest exporter of coal in the world, appears delighted with the development. As must be the coal corporations, because CCS in the CDM would ensure a foot in the door of the Kyoto Protocol for the non-ratifier. 

Let’s get a bit of “Australian” reality into the debate from the Australian Government’s own research agency, ABARE.  They assume the widespread global deployment and adoption of energy efficiency, and the utilisation of CCS technologies in key regions, with global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions projected to be about 26 per cent below reference case levels at 2050.

Sounds reasonable until it is realised the reference case is more than 25 Gt carbon-equivalent. In other words, under this CCS scenario, there would be a 70 per cent increase in GHG emissions by 2050, when the science is stating there needs a reduction in global emissions by 50 per cent over the same period. Cheers.

So Australia, tell us how CCS, whether in or out of the CDM, is going to significantly reduce global emissions? What about spending as much time talking about how to significantly ramp up energy efficiency and renewables rather than business-as-usual coal?