Carbon capture and storage is a flagship programme in the government's proposed National Climate Change Response white paper, presently subject to public hearings. It was also part of the government's long-term mitigation plans to counter climate change.
The technology has drawn growing interest in recent weeks and is expected to be a hot topic at COP17 later this month.
President Jacob Zuma and Energy Minister Dipuo Peters gave it a boost when they visited a carbon capture and storage demonstration plant during a state trip to Norway last month. The Norwegian government, with local industries, has invested in the development of the technology in South Africa.
Delegates at a carbon capture and storage conference hosted in Midrand by the department of energy last week said the technology was appropriate in South Africa because of its heavy reliance on fossil fuels, which provide more than 90% of the country's primary energy and are responsible for emitting more than 400-million tonnes of carbon a year.
The technology could help reduce these emissions by capturing flue gases produced by power plants using fossil fuels, said Mark Boneham, sales and marketing director of technology provider Alstom. Read the full report here.
Source:Â by Fiona Macleod, Mail & Guardian.Â
