Introduction to CEO-Ministerial Roundtable at the CSLF

Ministers,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Energy is the engine behind economic development and human progress. Energy security is indispensible for life as we know it.  Today, fossil fuels account for the majority of our energy use. This is a fact of life, and the world’s dependence on fossil fuels will not change substantially for decades to come.

At the same time the world faces the threat of climate change. A threat so formidable that it is incomparable to anything humans have experienced before. If we are to succeed in preventing the dramatic effects of climate change, we must cut global greenhouse gas emissions by between 50 and 85 % by 2050.

The Norwegian Government therefore firmly believes that in the equation between economic development and climate change, carbon capture and storage has to play an important part.

Personally, I would even go as far as to say that in our effort to transform our energy system from high to low in carbon emissions, there can be no energy security without carbon capture and storage.

Today, the IEA has given us more ammunition for our policy. According to IEAs CCS roadmap, the cost of achieving the necessary cuts in CO2 emissions will be 70 % higher without CCS, and deployment has to start as soon as possible in both developed and emerging economies. We have no time to waste. 

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The Norwegian Government has long been a strong advocate for carbon capture and storage. The Norwegian gas field Sleipner is a success story that shows that CO2 can be stored in geological structures without leakage. It has been done safely, without damaging human health or the environment, for 13 successive years.

One of the main barriers to CCS is the high costs of capturing CO2. In 2006, the Norwegian Government and StatoilHydro signed an agreement concerning construction of a CCS Technology Centre and a full scale CCS plant at Mongstad where there is a power plant and a refinery. The aim of the Technology Centre is to reduce the costs and the risk in connection with full scale developments. The Centre focuses on post-combustion capture. Viable post-combustion capture solutions are vital if we are to capture CO2 from existing power plants, in particular coal fired power plants.

Construction of the CCS Technology Centre started this summer and it will be operational in 2011. So far, Shell has joined the Norwegian Government and StatoilHydro in undertaking the CCS Technology Centre. The Norwegian Government would also encourage other companies with an interest in CCS to join.

In addition to the CCS Technology Center, a full scale CCS plant capturing 1,2 million tons of CO2 yearly from the power plant at the Mongstad refinery is currently being planned. The Norwegian Government will finance the investment and the operating cost of the facility will be shared by the Norwegian Government and StatoilHydro.
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Copenhagen is approaching.
The Norwegian Government has long argued that a new international climate regime should effectively promote CCS as a key mitigation technology. CCS must be included in any financing mechanism that covers developing countries. This is important in order to secure sustainable economic development and energy security for these countries.

Moreover, information exchange and capacity building activities must be substantially increased to make emerging economies capable to employ CCS technologies. That is why the Norwegian Government is a strong supporter of the CSLF Capacity Building Program, which is being launched at this Ministerial meeting.

In addition, we believe the World Bank should play a key role in CCS Capacity Building. The Norwegian Government has therefore decided to contribute to CCS capacity building activities through the World Bank, and to grant 6 million US dollars to these activities.

I will also take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Australian Government, which initiated and financially support the Global CCS Institute. The Norwegian Government is a strong supporter of the Institute and believes that its activity will contribute considerably to the deployment of CCS in both developed and developing countries.

Taken together, all these efforts will make a significant difference and ensure that more countries will be able to take advantage of CCS.
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It is a pleasure for me to introduce the CEO-Ministerial Roundtable.
CCS is still an immature technology with many challenges.
Technically, we know it works, but we need to lower the costs and risks.
This can only be done through building commercial scale demonstration projects.
Many such projects are currently on the drawing board, but getting from there to real physical projects is demanding.
There are many challenges. Some are on the governments table, and some belong to the industry.
If we believe CCS can and should play an important role in reducing CO2 emission, we need to act.

I welcome this opportunity to bring the leaders of the industry and governments together. We will not succeed without engagement, co-operation, understanding and determination.

I sincerely hope the discussion today will bring more clarity in what both sides have to do. This is not a zero sum game, where one side loses if the other side wins. The climate change challenge demands more of us.

Some argue that CCS is an unproven technology.
So we must prove that is works.
Many say CCS is too costly.
So we must make it commercially attractive.
Some say CCS is too distant in time.
So we have to speed it up.
At the same time public concerns must be properly addressed.

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The first panel discussion will be chaired by Preston Chiaro, the Chief executive of Energy and Minerals in Rio Tinto. The second will be chaired by the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, Ms Lisa Raitt. But before we turn to the panel discussion, we will have a quick report from the Chairs of the Stakeholder Forum, Mr. David Hawkins from the Natural Resources Defence Council, and Mr. Jeff Chapman from the Carbon Capture and Storage Association.