Greenhouse gas mitigation in a carbon constrained world – The role of CCS in

Barbara Praetorius, DIW Berlin Katja Schumacher, Öko-Institut Berlin

In a carbon constrained world, at least four classes of greenhouse gas mitigation options are available: Energy efficiency, fuel switching, introduction of carbon dioxide capture and storage along with electric generating technologies, and reductions in emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases. The role of energy technologies is considered crucial in climate change mitigation. In particular, carbon capture and storage (CCS) promises to allow for low- emissions fossil-fuel based power generation. The technology is under development; a number of technological, economic, environmental and safety issues remain to be solved. With regard to its sustainability impact, CCS raises a number of questions: On the one hand, CCS may prolong the prevailing coal-to-electricity regime and countervail efforts in other mitigation categories. On the other hand, given the indisputable need to continue using fossil fuels for some time, it may serve as a bridging technology towards a sustainable energy future.

In this paper, we discuss the relevant issues for the case of Germany. We provide a survey of the current state of the art in CCS deployment and activities, and perform an energy- environment-economic analysis using a general equilibrium model for Germany. The model analyzes the impact of introducing carbon constraints with respect to the deployment of CCS, to the resulting greenhouse gas emissions, to the energy and technology mix and with respect to interaction of different mitigation efforts. The results show the relative importance of the components in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. For example, under the assumption of a CO2 policy, both energy efficiency and CCS will contribute to climate gas mitigation. A given climate target can be achieved at lower marginal costs when the option of CCS is included in the analysis. We conclude that, given an appropriate legal and policy framework, CCS, energy efficiency and some other mitigation efforts are complementary measures and should form part of a broad mix of measures required for a successful CO2 mitigation strategy.

CVs

Dr. Barbara Praetorius has been with the DIW Department of Energy, Transportation and Environment since April 1992. Diploma (M.Sc) in Economics in 1990, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, . Licence és Sciences Economiques in 1987, Université Aix/Marseille III, . Energy policy assistant at the Future Energies Forum in Bonn from 1990 to 1992. PhD thesis on the reform of the electricity sector in at Free University Berlin, 2000. Research stays at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, USA, and (repeatedly) at the Energy and Development Research Centre (EDRC), University of Cape Town, South Africa. Teaching activities at Free University and Humboldt University, Berlin. Her research focuses on the diffusion of energy innovations (e.g. distributed generation and carbon capture and storage), on electricity market structure, function and regulation, and on policy instruments and scenarios for a sustainable energy supply (ecological tax reform, portfolio standards, certificate trading, voluntary agreements). As a result of her international experience in energy reform issues and South Africa she participates in related consulting activities. Since July 2002, she has been leading the interdisciplinary research project Transformation and Innovation in Power Systems (TIPS) with a focus on innovation diffusion, sustainable development paths and strategies for the electricity system (www.tips-project.de)

Dr. Katja Schumacher studied economics at the University of Bonn, the University of California at Berkeley and the Humboldt University in Berlin. She received her Masters Degree from the University of Bonn in 1996 and her PhD from the Humboldt University Berlin in 2007. From 1996 to 2000, Katja Schumacher worked as a Senior Research Associate in the Energy Analysis Department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, and from 2000 to 2007 in the Energy, Transport and Environment Department at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). In 2007, Katja Schumacher joined the Energy and Climate Change Division of Öko-Institut in Berlin. Katja Schumacher's main fields of research are in the area of energy and climate change, in particular the development and comparative analysis of energy and climate policies and the assessment of energy systems and innovative energy technologies. Her focus is on quantitative energy-economy modelling to investigate the costs and benefits of mitigation measures.