Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Climate change caused by greenhouse gases (GHG) is a clear and present danger to the whole world that demands immediate attention. Most countries have joined an international treaty - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - and are beginning to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever the temperature rises are. The UNFCCC’s current mechanisms and actions in response to global climate change will deeply influence the development of economies, trade, energy, and environmental protection for generations to come and will lead to the formation of a new global disposition and market. Taiwan should not be absent at this crucial juncture and should instead actively seek for an appropriate status in the global community in order to maintain its national interests, security and international industrial competitiveness. In Taiwan, the government has laid out an ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It has established targets to keep carbon dioxide emissions at the 2008 level by 2020, and reduce it to the 2000 level by 2025, and then further to half the 2000 level by 2050.



CO₂ Capture and Storage (CCS) — also known as CO₂ sequestration — is a process whereby CO₂ is captured from flue gases produced by fossil fuel combustion, then compressed, transported and injected into deep geologic formations for permanent storage. There are several existing technologies such as chemical absorption, physical absorption/adsorption, and membrane separation which have been proposed to capture CO₂ from gases. A number of specific storage options and associated techniques are in varying stages of research and development. These are methods largely related to geological and ocean storage. In conjunction with the actual physical storage of CO₂ at these locations there are also subsequent measuring, monitoring and verification (MMV) processes needed to ensure that the integrity of the storage site is maintained. Leakage of CO₂ poses a threat not only to climate mitigation efforts but also to the environment and to human health. Standard protocol and the precise tools for MMV are awaiting development. At present substantial gaps exist with respect to a legal and regulatory framework that would govern the safe and long-term administration of CO₂ storage which leave significant questions about liability and risk unanswered.