Carbon Capture and Storage

15 February 2006

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology inquiry into Carbon Capture and Storage Technology.

The RSC is the largest organisation in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences. Supported by a network of 43,000 members worldwide and an internationally acclaimed publishing business, our activities span education and training, conferences and science policy, and the promotion of the chemical sciences to the public.

This document represents the views of the RSC and has been put together by our Environment, Sustainability and Energy Forum in consultation with the Energy Policy working group. The RSC's Royal Charter obliges it to serve the public interest by acting in an independent advisory capacity, and we would therefore be very happy for this submission to be put into the public domain.

The document has been written from the perspective of the Royal Society of Chemistry consequently our comments relate to only parts of the consultation document. However, the chemical sciences and chemical scientists will play an essential role in driving forward technological breakthroughs in the capture, storage and conversion of carbon dioxide.

The evidence submitted was in the most part published in an RSC report entitled "Chemical Science Priorities for Sustainable Energy Solutions".

The response can essentially be divided into 4 key sections:
1. State of the art in trapping and storing carbon dioxide
2. Research and development priorities for trapping and storing carbon dioxide
3. Chemical conversion of carbon dioxide in chemicals and fuels
4. Key funding needs