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China Laughs at Carbon Capture

Whenever one exchanges words with a representative of the British Government regarding Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), if one deigns to risk asking such a question as “why is the UK spending so much time, effort and resources on CCS demonstrations ?”, the usual, much-trodden answer is “because we need to lead China on this”.

This is a quite ineffable position. It beats comprehension why it is being promoted, no matter how ridiculous it is. It’s almost taboo to speak against CCS. Government Budget lines have been firmly allocated to CCS and there’s no shifting their ground on this one. It’s the kind of reasoning that leaves me with a jaw gaping open.

What kind of patronising nonsense is it to propose that we can “help” China develop clean power. Is it somehow altruistic ? No, I don’t think so. It’s more about selling solutions to the Chinese. We could make a lot of money selling expensive pieces of kit to the Chinese.

The Chinese, however, rise above all that marketing nonsense. The Chinese are acting with more responsibility about their Greenhouse Gas emissions than the West is – now that they understand what Climate Change is doing to their Middle Kingdom.

Sure, they’ve got problems with governance of the changes required, like we all do, but they’re not stupid. You can actually imagine an “inscrutable” Chinese official actually putting up his hand to hide his giggles. Knock the false idol down ! :-

https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=awnmd15dPMVU

“China Balks at Global Warming-Gas Capture Costs : By Alex Morales and Jeremy van Loon : Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) — China, the world’s biggest carbon- dioxide polluter, is balking at the cost and effectiveness of extracting greenhouse gases from hundreds of coal plants and storing them underground. China can achieve larger emissions cuts instead by spending money improving the energy efficiency of buildings and vehicles and investing in alternative power sources such as wind and solar, said Su Wei, director-general of the climate-change unit at China’s National Development and Reform Commission. “Carbon capture and storage, particularly for China, is not one of the priorities — the cost is an issue,” Su said in an Aug. 4 telephone interview from Beijing. “If we spent the same money for CCS on energy efficiency and the development of renewables, it would generate larger climate-change benefits.”…”

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