The political economy of carbon capture and storage: An analysis of two demonstration projects

Abstract

Keywords:Carbon capture and storage Technology demonstration projects Political economy UK Canada climate change mitigation Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology is considered key to mitigating climate change by international institutions and governments around the world. The technology is considered advantageous because it may enable the continued utilization of fossil fuels while curbing carbon emissions. However, development of the technology remains slow on the ground. It is generally argued that large-scale, integrated demonstration projects are needed as a next step toward commercialization. Despite government support in several countries, few projects exist so far worldwide. This paper asks why it is so difficult to get demonstration projects off the ground. The argument is that it is not only project-specific factors that determine the feasibility of demonstration, but given the need for government support, a variety of political economy factors influence decision-making processes by policy makers and companies. The paper introduces an analytical framework developed on the basis of the political economy literature that considers six sets of factors that influence outcomes. It discusses two specific projects, Longannet in the UK and Quest in Canada, and explains why one failed and the other one is under construction. The analysis shows that although climate change has been a more important policy concern in the UK compared to Canada, the specific political economy situation of fossil fuel rich provinces like Alberta has led to the Quest project going forward.

Uncertainty management and the dynamic adjustment of deep decarbonization pathways

“…Currently, the low-carbon prices all around the world are not sufficient to support CCS. The number of large-scale integrated CCS projects is smaller than expected a few years ago and decreasing (Kern, Gaede, Meadowcroft, & Watson, 2016), and many of them face delays. Some projects have even been cancelled because of difficulties in assembling viable business solutions (Global CCS Institute, 2013).…”

An integrated risk assessment and management framework for carbon capture and storage: a Canadian perspective

“…Two categories of risk management challenges related to the sociopolitical context for CCS are introduced by Leiss At the regional and national scale, Campbell-Arvai et al (2019) suggested that "benefit perceptions might be susceptible to the national context where CCS is deployed… [possibly] due to differences in the national energy mix and energy policy." Indeed, Kern et al (2016) analysed Alberta's positive political economy landscape as a critical feature in the successful application and development of the Quest project in Canada. Within the IRMF process, socio-political considerations in risk-based decision making can be more easily identified and addressed beginning at Step 1 and continuing through ongoing integrated engagement with wide-ranging government, quasi-government, external non-government and public stakeholders.…”

Financial Eco-Innovation as a Mechanism for Fostering the Development of Sustainable Infrastructure Systems

“…Thus, the development of financial mechanisms represents a means of alleviating financial constraints [41], and therefore, it is important to have policies and regulatory frameworks that will address the financial gap and solve long-term financing problems [60]. Similarly, the debate on climate change and sustainable development have driven research processes to develop eco-innovations capable of reducing carbon emissions and promoting green economic growth [41], as reported [61] in the study on resilient transport infrastructure systems and sustainable economic growth.…”