James Millar, President and CEO of the International CCS Knowledge Centre, issued the following statement in response to the release of Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan today:

“We are very pleased the Government of Alberta has joined other leading energy-producing jurisdictions around the world in committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and aspiring to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in line with the ambitious timelines in the Paris Agreement.

As the International Energy Agency and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have concluded, large-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCS/CCUS) is required in order to achieve the emissions reductions needed to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 2ºC. Alberta’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan recognizes the importance of CCS technology to cut CO₂ emissions from heavy industries across the province, using proven technology, while ensuring these industries continue to provide the jobs and economic benefits that are the foundation of Alberta’s — and Canada’s — prosperity and high standard of living.

Bringing large-scale CCS/CCUS projects to life requires unprecedented collaboration between industry, governments, academia, community and Indigenous partners, and we commend the Government of Alberta for developing a climate plan that is aligned with the federal government and recognizes the importance of ensuring Alberta remains competitive for CCUS investment and the opportunity to build on the province’s global leadership in CCUS development to date.”

Background

Canada has been a leader in the first generation of global CCS development, with five of the 30 commercial CCS projects in the world today, including the Quest CCS project operated by Shell at the Scotford oil sands upgrader near Edmonton, the largest CO₂ pipeline on the planet - the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line, and SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Unit 3 CCS Facility — the world’s first fully integrated CCS facility on a coal-fired power plant.

Canada accounts for approximately 15 per cent of current global CCS/CCUS capacity – approximately seven million tonnes of CO₂ per year – even though the country generates less than two per cent of global CO₂ emissions. Since 2000, CCS projects in Canada have safely stored more than 44 million tonnes of CO₂, or the equivalent of taking more than 9.4 million cars off the road.

Canada has pledged to cut its emissions by 40 – 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Canada’s current federal emissions reduction plan expects  national CCS capacity to more than triple, adding facilities to capture and store at least 15 million tonnes per year by 2030.

The major players in Canada’s heavy-emitting industries – which provide major contributions to national GDP and government revenues, employ millions of people, and include firms that are at the core of most Canadians’ pension plans and investment portfolios – are committed to achieving net zero by 2050, and they are set to invest billions on CCS in Canada.

In Alberta, Capital Power announced last December a limited notice to proceed for its Genesee CCS project. Heidelberg Materials is advancing the world’s first CCS project on a cement plant in Edmonton. And the oil sands industry is already spending tens of millions of dollars on the environmental assessments, early-stage engineering work and stakeholder engagement that is necessary to receive permits for construction for one of the world’s largest CCS projects known as the Pathways Alliance.

About the International CCS Knowledge Centre

The International CCS Knowledge Centre is a non-profit organization founded in 2016 by BHP and SaskPower to advance large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects as a critical means of managing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving the world’s ambitious climate goals.

The Knowledge Centre provides independent, expert advisory services for CCS projects across heavy-emitting industries based on our team’s unique experience developing the world’s first fully integrated post-combustion CCS facility on a coal-fired power plant. We have a proven track record of helping our clients lower costs, reduce risk and improve the performance of CCS projects across industries and technology platforms using the latest knowledge and lessons learned from major projects across the globe. 

We also provide input to policy development and promote broad collaboration between stakeholders to enhance understanding of the critical role CCS plays in global decarbonization efforts and accelerate the deployment of new CCS projects around the world.

The Knowledge Centre is providing independent consultation and technical advisory services to a number of Alberta companies pursuing CCS projects as part of their long-term sustainability plans, including:

• Completing the feasibility study (with funding provided by Emissions Reduction Alberta) and supporting front-end engineering and design (FEED) planning for the world’s first full-scale CCS facility on a cement plant at Heidelberg Materials’ Edmonton factory.
• Supporting early-stage engineering work on CCS projects planned by several members of the Pathways Alliance, a coalition of the six largest oil sands producers that is planning to invest planning to invest more than $24 billion in CCS and other emissions reduction technologies by the end of the decade in order to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
• Partnering with Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) to provide successful applicants of the ERA’s Carbon Capture Kickstart with up to 200 hours of support on their pre-construction design and engineering studies for carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) projects, with funding provided by ERA. The 11 successful projects represent an estimated $20 billion in capital expenditures in a wide range of industrial sectors, including power generation, cement, fertilizer, forest products and oil and gas.

Learn more at ccsknowledge.com

Media Contact:

Grady Semmens

Director, Communications & Marketing

International CCS Knowledge Centre

Phone: +1.403.245.2667

gsemmens@ccsknowledge.com