By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 19 -- Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries discussed carbon capture and storage (CCS) during a Nov. 17-18 meeting in Riyahd.
Algeria's Energy Minister Chakib Khelil discussed energy and the environment as it related to a draft declaration at the Third OPEC Summit on Nov. 18.
"Carbon storage could reduce the impact of fossil fuels on climate change, and developed countries have the technology on this," Khelil said.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Director Yvo de Boer addressed OPEC delegates and spoke with reporters during the Riyahd meeting.
"I think the debate here points to a constructive willingness to participate in international dialogue about climate change," he said. The UNFCCC's International Panel on Climate Change calls CCS the most promising technology for rapidly reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
A UN climate change conference is scheduled for December in Bali. UN approval of CCS methodologies could promote CCS technology research and development efforts.
Separately, the European Commission is expected to approve CCS as an emissions reduction method, beginning in 2013. The third phase of the cap-and-trade European Trading Scheme (ETS) would make CCS projects eligible for ETS emissions-reduction credits.
