The Royal Academy of Engineering: Our perspective on CCS

Dr Alan WalkerPolicy Advisor, The Royal Academy of Engineering

The Academy

Strategic Priorities: Leading Debate

“…influence public policy making; provide a forum for the mutual exchange of ideas; and pursue effective engagement with society on matters within our competence.”

We are Britain’s national academy of engineering, bringing together the country’s most eminent engineers from all disciplines.

Lord Browne of Madingley’s Presidential Priorities:

• Climate Change and Energy• Poverty Reduction• Health and Wellbeing

Need to find practical and feasible engineering solutions

Government• Stern Review: “Policies are required to support the

development of a range of low-carbon and high-efficiency technologies on an urgent timescale.”

• UK Climate Change Bill: This will put into statute targets to reduce emissions of CO2 by at least 60% by 2050 relative to 1990

• UK demonstration plant competition: Project to demonstrate post-combustion CCS on a coal fired (300MW) power plant with offshore storage by 2014

BUT…• Coal reserves of approximately 164 years, mainly in

USA, China, Russia and India

• In 2006, 38% of electricity supplied in the UK was generated from coal (Dukes)

IEA World Energy Outlook

The Reference Scenario: World Primary Energy Demand

© OECD/IEA - 2007

IEA World Energy Outlook

The Alternative Policy Scenario CO2 Reductions

© OECD/IEA - 2007

IEA World Energy Outlook

Beyond the Alternative Policy Scenario

© OECD/IEA - 2007

CO2 Capture & Storage Workshop

• Co-hosted by the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the IEA Coal Industry Advisory Board on 7 & 8 Nov 2008

• “Failure to succeed with CCS would force painful and perhaps unmanageable policy choices between pursuing energy security and addressing climate change. In this respect, CCS emerges as an indispensable part of the solution.”