IEF roundtable on carbon capture

BUSINESS REPORTER

The Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF) will host a high-level roundtable on scaling technologies designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change later this month.

Part of the IEF’s Circular Carbon Economy programme, the virtual roundtable on September 27 will be held in collaboration with the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Riyadh.

“There is an urgent need for governments to focus on carbon management technologies,” said Joseph McMonigle, Secretary General of the IEF. “Without more comprehensive strategies to speed deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage, one fifth of the emissions cuts required by 2050 to stop global warming are in doubt.”

Today, about 40 million metric tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide are captured every year. To reach climate goals, CCUS deployment must reach 5.6 gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 by 2050, according to the Global CCS Institute.

In response to calls for greater international dialogue and collaboration on carbon management, the roundtable will seek to formulate strategies in different economic contexts, focusing first on Gulf countries.

Hosted by Mr McMonigle; Dan Dorner, Head of the CEM Secretariat; and Adam Sieminski, Senior Adviser to the KAPSARC Board of Trustees, other speakers include Syrie Crouch, Vice- President, Carbon Capture Storage, Shell; Tidjani Niass, Senior Sustainability Strategist, Saudi Aramco and Lee Beck, International Director for Carbon Capture, Clean Air Task Force (CATF). The meeting will look at the uptake of CCUS technologies in the Gulf, and consider case studies in industrial clusters in Europe, North America, and Asia.

“The world needs to turbocharge CCUS,” said Christof van Agt, Director of Energy Dialogue at the IEF. “We need more comprehensive strategies and an international mechanism to broaden the scope of carbon management policies and catalyse investment.”

“Removing hurdles to the circular carbon economy has never been more important for a swift, secure, and sustainable recovery that meets affordable energy access and climate goals,” he added.