§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what(a) national and (b) international organisations the Department has consulted on plans to capture and store carbon dioxide. [130533]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 18 September 2003]: We are consulting a large number of UK organisations covering industry, academia and environmental bodies in considering the options for carbon capture and storage (CSS). This has mostly been through conference and seminar events. A full list of the organisations who have participated more fully in the development of our current position can be found at annex 1 of the "Review of the Feasibility of Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK". This report can found on the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/coal/cfft/co2capture/review.pdf. DEFRA have also been closely involved in the development of our conclusions. In addition to this we have held a public seminar in October 2002 at which representatives of Greenpeace and Bellona were invited to speak on the issue. Other NGOs, such as Friends of the Earth, the WWF and the RSPB also attended.
Internationally, we have directly discussed CCS with the governments of Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany. CCS is also an area of interest included in the UK/US Cleaner Fossil Fuel Implementing Arrangement signed earlier this year. We have also been in touch with governments and industry in both Canada and Australia.