CCUS in national GHG inventories

Measurement, reporting and verification and accounting for carbon dioxide removal in the context of both project-based approaches and national greenhouse gas inventories

• 15 October 2024
• Industry Insights
• Policy & Regulation

International Standards and Testing for Novel Carbonaceous Building Materials

• 1 December 2023
• Policy & Regulation
• Utilisation

Over 4 billion tonnes of cement are produced each year, equating to approximately 8% of global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, and this industry will continue to grow with the expansion of the built environment at a time that emissions need to be reduced. The utilisation or reduction of CO₂ within cement, concrete and building materials could be a valuable way to contribute to emissions reductions in the sector , but there are several barriers, including the current state of standards, regulations and policies. This study will provide useful information for the technical and research community, the CCUS industry, the construction industry, and policymakers, providing an unbiased and non-prescriptive evaluation of international standards and testing relevant to novel carbonaceous building materials to address some of those barriers. The market potential for CO₂ utilisation processes in the construction industry is also investigated, and the methods for certifying and measuring embodied carbon content of carbonated building materials is evaluated and the challenges therein.

Integrating CCS in international cooperation and carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

• 18 January 2023
• Policy & Regulation

This work assesses the status of and outlooks for international cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and considers how approaches could support the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS). It provides an up-to-date look at the Article 6 rules, the types of markets and mechanisms that could evolve, and the units that could be traded. It then considers how Article 6 could apply to CCS through linked emissions trading systems, crediting systems and alternative approaches.

Applying ISO Standards to Geologic Storage and EOR Projects

• 1 September 2022
• Policy & Regulation
• Storage

The work aims to summarise and synthesise the two ISO Standards relevant to the geological storage of CO₂: – ISO 27914:2017 (‘Carbon dioxide capture, transportation and geological storage – Geological storage’) and ISO 27916:2019 (‘Carbon dioxide capture, transportation and geological storage – Carbon dioxide storage using enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR)’) – to provide a high-level understanding of the content into an easily digestible format. By comparison with international regulatory frameworks, and providing case studies of how applicable the standards are to real CO₂ storage projects, the study provides a comprehensive overview and concludes on the usefulness of the documents in supporting the implementation of CCUS projects. For the purposes of this overview, the standards will hereafter be referred to as ISO 27914 and ISO 27916

Exporting CO₂ for Offshore Storage – The London Protocol’s Export Amendment and Associated Guidelines and Guidance

• 12 April 2021
• Policy & Regulation
• Storage

The London Convention and London Protocol are the global treaties that protect the marine environment from pollution caused by the dumping of wastes. Since 2006, the London Protocol has provided a basis in international environmental law to allow carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage beneath the seabed when it is safe to do so, and to regulate the injection of CO₂ into sub-seabed geological formations for permanent isolation. However, Article 6 of the London Protocol prohibits the export of waste or other matter for dumping in the marine environment. Therefore in 2019, Contracting Parties to the London Protocol adopted a resolution to allow provisional application of the 2009 amendment to Article 6 of the Protocol to allow export of CO₂ for storage in sub-seabed geological formations in advance of its ratification, which was progressing slowly.

CCS and the Sustainable Development Goals

• 15 December 2020
• Policy & Regulation

The overall objective of this assessment was to improve the availability and accessibility of information regarding the relevance of CCS in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The primary objective was achieved through the completion of three key goals: <ol> <!– wp:list-item –><!– wp:list-item –><li>Collation of existing information on impacts of CCS on specific targets of the 17 SDGs, using the rating, scoring and information assessment as per IPCC’s SR1.5,</li><!– /wp:list-item –><!– /wp:list-item –> <!– wp:list-item –><!– wp:list-item –><li>Articulation of specific gaps in information, and</li><!– /wp:list-item –><!– /wp:list-item –> </ol> Proposal of a path forward by providing a prioritised lists of gap closures.There is a growing body of literature orientated towards converting climate action into policies directed towards implementation of SDGs. There is also a trend of material becoming available examining the interaction of technologies and sectors against SDGs. CCS remains a complex technological solution to climate change, and public understanding of the technology remains low. This study can help to substantiate the wider value of CCS, but it can also highlight points of attention/action on potentially negative interactions with specific SDGs.

Integrated GHG accounting guidelines for CCUS

• 1 November 2019
• Policy & Regulation

This report sets out accounting guidelines for measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and emissions reduction effects arising from technologies involving carbon dioxide capture, utilisation and geological storage (CCUS).The guidelines apply a project- and product-based approach to measure GHG emission reduction effects, based on comparing the emissions for a CCUS activity with the emissions from a comparable activity delivering the same product or service.A modular approach is applied. Firstly, users calculate the GHG effects arising from the capture (and transport) of CO₂ based on the avoided emissions from providing the same service or product as output from the CO₂ source facility, but without CO₂ capture.The resulting estimate of GHG effects from CO₂ capture is carried forward to the utilisation or storage step. In this subsequent step, the GHG emissions from providing the same service without using captured CO₂ is estimated and compared to the GHG emissions of providing the service using captured CO₂. This provides an overall estimate of the cradle-to-gate GHG effect of CCUS activities.Additional guidance is provided on cradle-to-grave assessment, although this is not the primary focus of these guidelines – the Guidelines focus on annualised GHG emissions accounting cycles rather than whole life emissions analysis.

GHG Accounting for CCU Technologies – Characterising CCU technologies, policy support, regulation and emissions accounting

• 1 March 2018
• Policy & Regulation
• Utilisation

Over recent years, interest in CO₂ capture and utilisation (CCU) from policy-makers, industry and academics has increased dramatically, although uncertainty remains regarding the technology’s true potential to contribute towards wider greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals. A range of views have been expressed in these contexts, but on the whole it remains largely speculative and unproven. Consequently, it is difficult to provide firm opinions on whether CCU technologies can make a meaningful and lasting contribution to tackling climate change. This report provides an assessment of the range of views presented by various stakeholders, and attempts to establish an empirical evidence base upon which to qualify the views and opinions expressed.Additionally, the key way to gain a clearer understanding of the potential for CCU technologies to reduce GHG emissions is to assess the overall energy and carbon balances for different CCU processes, and to take a view on how and whether these could make a contribution to GHG emission reductions. In other words, as noted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 2005 Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (SRCCS) ‘further study of the net energy and CO₂ balance of industrial processes that use the captured CO₂ could help to establish a more complete picture of the potential of this option’. Such detailed studies have, at best, only partially been carried out and are heavily reliant on the assumptions made in the analysis. Thus, IEAGHG has commissioned Carbon Counts (UK) Ltd to characterise CCU technologies, as well as their policy support, regulation and emissions accounting.

CCS deployment in the context of regional developments

• 1 August 2017
• Policy & Regulation

The aim of this study was to characterise key countries and regions worldwide where carbon capture and storage (CCS) could play an important role in mitigation efforts, based on national circumstances and priorities. An additional objective was to identify how international frameworks, such as the UNFCCC, can support CCS and what these new architectures would mean with respect to development of nationally determined contributions (NDCs).