GHGT-17: Panel Discussion 1 – Advancing Carbon Management in Developing Countries

Organizers: World Bank and IEAGHG

This Discussion panel was organized and moderated by Rachael Moore, a consultant of the World Bank.

This panel session built on the dialogue that was started at GHGT16 in the panel session “Advancing Industrial Decarbonization in Developing Countries using CO₂ Capture and Storage”.

During this session, panelists shared first-hand knowledge and experience about how they have approached developing carbon management activities in specific countries and around the world. They discussed barriers to financing projects and the role of multilateral support in developing carbon management. The panel included representatives from developing countries and international organizations in order to share multiple perspectives on CCUS development.

Belladonna Troxylon Maulianda of the Indonesia CCS Center talked about how Indonesia is developing CCUS, including on the legal and regulatory aspects. They see a need for technology transfer and also scholarships for students to get experience abroad with the various areas of CCUS.

Lorez Des Vignes (Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries Trinidad and Tobago) talked about how they are currently assessing their storage resources, both onshore and offshore. They have received some Green Climate Funds to assist with the assessment of saline aquifer storage potential, as they develop their storage atlas.

Nathália Weber (CCS Brasil) talked about the new developments with onshore CCS (they have a substantial offshore CCS project – Lula). They have great interest in applying CCS to their ethanol production, and seek more stakeholder engagement to build trust.

Carl Greenfield provided some scene-setting from the IEA, and the importacne of having a legal and regulatory framework, the availability of climate finance, and the need to reduce the cost of capital in developing countries. Each country panelist described their national situation regarding CCS.

Natalia Kulichenko-Lotz (World Bank) and Sadesh Sookraj (IFC World Bank Group) talked about what the World Bank has achieved to date, their interest in carbon credits, and talked of a new CCS hub within the IFC.

Tim Dixon (IEAGHG) talked about the IEAGHG’s International CCS Summer Schools, with around a quarter of its 750 alumni coming from developing countries, and how they liaised with the World Bank to get attendees from Timor Leste to two Summer Schools in support of the World Bank efforts in that country. He also spoke of the new development of a Global Network of Centres of Excellence in Developing Countries, with a meeting of five such centres the week before organized with the Gulf Coast Carbon Center and hosted by the International CCS Knowledge Centre in Regina.

The importance of having CCS included in a country’s National Determined Contribution (NDC) or Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) was emphasized. The example of Trinidad and Tobago was used, where IEAGHG identified that their TNA was being developed with out involving the country’s CCS experts. When this was corrected, it eventually led to the TNA being used to justify fundi ng from the Green Climate Fund.

On the role of the carbon markets, the current role of the voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) for BECCS was raised, but needs to scale, overcome verification issues, and have methodologies that are consistent with BECCS. Tim spoke about Article 6.4 and its new Standard on Removals and CCS, which will aid the international compliance carbo markets. All recognized that the private sector needs regulatory certainty.

There was a good range of questions from the audience, including the need for technology transfer to occur without looking like imperialism. Tim Dixon said that a good aspect of CCS is that storage is the countries own national resource, and support is about assisting them to assess and develop their own resources. 

Many thanks to Rachael Moore and Natalia Kulichenko-Lotz for co-organizing this panel.