There has been much conversation surrounding the Paris Agreement {link} of late and how we can work towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, therein still lies a question - what do we do with the greenhouse gases that we produce?
Currently there is some question regarding the efficiency of carbon capture and storage technologies and the actual cost of CCS. To this end carbon capture tends only to be used where the gases can be collected directly at source at an industrial level, rather than trying to scrub the atmosphere once the gases have ‘escaped’.
Carbon capture and storage as a method of reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere also brings with it its own concerns. Leaks from underwater storage can, for example, lead to the acidification of water, help destroy coral reefs, and have a potentially fatal impact on human life if the storage breach is significant enough.
Regional impacts
Obviously Qatar and the MENA region produces a large amount of greenhouse gases due to the economic dependence on the oil industry. Indeed the ‘storage’ of waste gases has already been used to the industry's advantage through CO2 enhanced oil recovery - pumping gas into mature oil fields to ensure that they are as productive as possible for as long as possible.
GSAS (Global Sustainability Assessment System ) the first performance based green building system in the MENA region developed by GORD, was launched in 2009 and is currently applied in GCC countries including Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia & Oman. Among other sustainability factors, GSAS also addresses the CO2 emission issue by utilizing a building performance indicator to monitor the CO2 emission reduction performance,
The future of Carbon Capture
In September 2012 a 10-year research partnership between Shell, Qatar Petroleum, Imperial College London and the Qatar Science and Technology Park established the Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre (QCCSRC). The center will help build Qatar’s capacity in CCS and cleaner fossil fuels, involving over 40 academic staff, postdoctoral researchers and PhD students.
In addition to this GORD Institute is also undertaking research {link} into a mathematical optimisation model for the design of integrated carbon capture, transport and storage infrastructure in Qatar.
Carbon Capture is an exciting area of research that has the potential to be at the forefront of the sustainability drive against climate change in the MENA Region.