Friday 18 January 2013

Carbon Capture and Storage: too hopeful?

Since I first heard about carbon capture and sequestration or storage (CCS) back in 2004 I felt like there was something inherently wrong about it. Perhaps it was this picture of someone cleaning the floor by swiping the dirt under the carpet that made me think this was simply not the way forward. In the meanwhile CCS  remained present in the climate change plans of many countries which count on it to reduce their emissions.

But if it is a bad idea then why should anyone care? This is not the right place to blame the coal lobby for promoting "clean coal" in order to lock the world in coal-fired electricity generation technologies. In fact not just the coal lobby but the world needs CCS.

The explanation requires us to take a step back in the energy supply chain. CCS at least initially means coal. Without an intention to praise coal's role it is hard to ignore that it supplies more the 41% of the world's electricity (IEA). The development of renewable energy has been rapid over the last decade but coal remains the single most important fuel for electricity generation. Proven, safe and cheap; but heavily polluting. In spite of efficiency improvements the world will only need more electricity in the near future as a result of transport, industry and household electrification. It is unavoidable that a major stake of this electricity will have to be generated in coal-fired power stations because a worldwide fuel mix change will take decades.

Coal is the most polluting, commonly used fuel but at the same time it is the cheapest and easiest to find. It is also the fuel for which we know our reserves will last the longest. Science tells us that the worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases need to be reduced if we want to avoid extreme climate change. If we cannot avoid coal, maybe we can at least avoid the consequences of burning it? The world needs hope.  

So, what's happening with CCS applications? The UK first launched a competition for CCS commercialisation in 2007. After EON withdrew plans for CCS at Kingsnorth power station it was time for Longannet to be cancelled in 2011. Was this a set-back for CCS in the UK? Yes it was, but the UK Government did not give up. A new initiative offering £1bn was set up and in late 2012 four projects were short-listed. Three of them applied for EU funding under the NER300 scheme but none was successful. In fact the Commission did not fund any CCS project at all citing as the main reason that member-states did not agree to cover funding gaps. The second round for EU funding is expected in 2013-2014 but the pot is only about €300m.

Like everybody else I'd like to think that CCS will work and allow us to use fossil fuels (not just coal) without having to suffer dangerous climate change or abruptly change lifestyle due to severe energy shortage1. However, it does not look to me like CCS development is progressing fast enough. In the meanwhile the world moves on with CCS-ready power stations. This often means as little as having some spare land next to the power station where the CCS systems could be installed when the technology becomes commercially attractive. CCS is not yet demonstrated to be technologically viable and this will not happen until the 2020s. Commercial attractiveness is a completely different stage though and one that may or may not be reached.



1There is no doubt that the world would face a severe energy shortage if we were to rely only on carbon neutral energy today.  

Sunday 6 January 2013

Ethical markets defy recession

Since the beginning of the financial crisis it has been assumed that the environmental and responsible business agenda would be pushed backwards. In fact, recession and the threat of it, were used in a number of occasions to justify lack of ambition in policy interventions. However, it seems that households, many of which are finding it hard to pay the bills, are moving to the right direction.

While the British economy was balancing between zero and negative growth, business in ethical goods markets was increasing. The results are consistent in a wide range of products and services. According to figures reported by Co-operative, ethical consumption was worth £47.2bn in 2011, a significant growth from £35.5bn in 2008 and £18bn in 2001. Specifically the market for ethically sourced groceries was worth £7.5bn, a growth of about 350% since 2000. Sales of domestic consumer goods promoting efficient use of energy grew by nearly 450% at the same time while over £1bn was spent in 2011 on "green cars".

The sustainable and ethical segment of groceries grew by 7.8% on the year to 2011. Ethically sourced fish and Fairtrade products championed this trend as sales were increased by 31.5% and 24.1% respectively. Apparently, when asked, 9 out of 10 consumers recognised the Fairtrade logo. In groceries, between 2010 and 2011 growth was strong in free-range poultry and eggs by more than 5%. However, the sales of organic products, while generally presenting a growth of 250% in the decade, followed a slight downwards trend between 2010-2011.

Co-operative's research also found that between 2000-2012 there was an increasing trend among people who reported getting engaged in acts broadly aligned with the ethical agenda at least once annually. Some examples include people who bought certain products primarily for ethical reasons (42% up from 27%), actively campaigned on environmental and social issues (24% up from 15%), felt guilty about unethical purchase (31% up from 17%), actively sought information about a company's reputation (33% up from 24%). However, the number of those who bought a product or service based on a company's reputation was slightly decreased (50% down from 51%). Also, the number of people who recommended a company on the basis of its reputation was reduced from 52% to 41%.

While there is no doubt that ethical business is growing it is now more than ever the combined efforts of retailers, governmental policy and consumer behaviour driving that growth. Take for example micro-generation (that is mainly domestic electricity generation) which grew by a staggering 286.3% in the year to 2011. This probably includes the boost in rooftop photovoltaic panels, for which the government used to provide generous subsidies. Moreover, the growth in green cars is influenced by the road tax scheme that provides tax breaks for low emission cars. Surely, the availability of affordable green vehicles helped as well. Similarly with groceries, all major retailers take pride in promoting sustainable and ethical goods. In conclusion, with the contribution of all stakeholders the performance of ethical markets remains strong.



This entry was re-posted at the blog of Norwich Business School at UEA.

Friday 4 January 2013

First post

Like everything else this blog had to start from somewhere. Following my resolution for 2013 here I am starting the Energy and Sustainable Business blog. I know that the title may seem as lacking focus to some of you. This is partly true as I did not want this blog to very specialised solely in Energy or Sustainable Business but rather in both.

At regular intervals, every fortnight I will post short entries about the energy and sustainable business news that grasped my attention. In this process everybody is welcome to comment.


Dr Konstantinos Chalvatzis
Lecturer in Business and Climate Change
Norwich Business School
University of East Anglia
Webpage: http://business.uea.ac.uk/dr-konstantinos-chalvatzis