CCS Seminar

On 1 July 2010 the British Embassy and the Rotterdam Climate Initiative (RCI) hosted the 1st Carbon Capture and Storage Seminar for the Regions. The event brought together people from regional clusters, private companies and NGOs who work on the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS). Various countries were represented at the Seminar, including the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France. The high level of interest in the Seminar illustrated the increasing importance of regional forms of co-operation aimed at developing this promising technology.

Over the last years, carbon capture and storage is more and more seen as a solution to reduce carbon emissions of coal and other fossil fuels. Therefore, the UK Government actively promotes research into this technology. The UK’s Foreign Office for instance recently supported research done to investigate the potential that CCS technology holds for countries based around the North Sea. The CCS Seminar for the Regions, which took place just after the interesting findings of this report were made public, allowed researchers, policy makers and these regional players to discuss what is needed from Government and the private sector to guarantee a successful roll out of CCS technology. Particular attention was spent on the role that regional clusters, such as the Rotterdam Climate Initiative, could play in this process.

The British Embassy, the Rotterdam Climate Initiative and the participants concluded that the Seminar provided an excellent venue for discussions. Over the coming months, the British Embassy and the Rotterdam Climate Initiative will discuss possibilities to draw up a working programme that could form the basis for a series of gatherings and events to share best practises and ideas to develop these initial successes.