CCS is the only way to manage carbon dioxide from the production of cement and steel

Industrial sectors such as cement and steel will continue to emit CO2 even if they switch to 100% renewable energy, says Camilla Skriung, who is urging the Norwegian government to take action now – without waiting for EU funding.

Camilla Skriung is an advisor at the Zero Emissions Resources Organization (Zero). A Norwegian environmental organization focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. She gave an interview to EURACTIV (a network of portals dedicated to European affairs, headquartered in Brussels) on the sidelines of a press trip financed by Gassnova. It is a Norwegian state enterprise that supports the development of CCS technologies.

Capture and storage of steel continue to emit CO2

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technology that captures up to 90% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Generated by the use of fossil fuels in the production of electricity. And in industrial processes, preventing carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

Most environmental NGOs are usually skeptical. If they don’t really oppose CCS, but Zero seems to be a notable exception. Why is that?

We see carbon capture and storage as part of the solution to combating global warming, to ensure we stay below 2°C.

We should reduce emissions in industries such as cement, steel, aluminum, ethanol, etc. Also have to take care of our waste. They produce considerable amounts of carbon dioxide when burned for energy recovery. And these emissions are only increasing globally.

All these sectors will continue to emit CO2, even if the use of renewable energy by the industry is carried out at 100%. The only way to deal with these emissions is CCS. So it is an important part of the mix to tackle global warming.

And we don’t have time to wait for other technologies to appear, so it could be our last chance.

Why is CCS the only way? Can renewable energies not be used?

Renewable energies are used for heating and power in these industries, and efforts must continue to install renewable energy in the respective factories on a larger scale than at present.

But the industrial process itself – how cement is produced, say – will continue to emit gases, regardless of the energy that is used.

So, the chemical process itself produces CO2 emissions. And, currently, it is only possible to mitigate it with carbon capture and storage.

Article source: https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/interview/norwegian-activist-ccs-is-the-only-way-to-deal-with-co2-from-cement-steel/