Carbon dioxide capture

Advance version

Decision -/CMP.6

Carbon dioxide capture and storage in geological formations as clean development mechanism project activities
The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, Recalling decisions 7/CMP.1, 1/CMP.2, 2/CMP.4 and 2/CMP.5, Taking into account Article 12, paragraph 5(b) and 5(c), of the Kyoto Protocol, Recognizing thatcarbon dioxide capture and storage in geological formations is a relevant technology for the attainment of the ultimate goal of the Convention and may be part of a range of potential options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, Recognizing that Parties have registered concerns regarding the implications of the possible inclusion of carbon dioxide capture and storage in geological formations asclean development mechanism project activities and have highlighted issues which need to be addressed and resolved in the design and implementation of carbon dioxide capture and storage in geological formations, in order for these activities to be considered within the scope of the clean development mechanism, Emphasizing that the deployment of carbon dioxide capture and storage in geologicalformations shall be environmentally safe and shall have as an objective the avoidance of any seepage, Emphasizing that the inclusion of carbon dioxide capture and storage project activities in geological formations in the clean development mechanism should not provide perverse outcomes, 1. Decides that carbon dioxide capture and storage in geological formations is eligible as project activities underthe clean development mechanism, provided that the issues identified in decision 2/CMP.5, paragraph 29, are addressed and resolved in a satisfactory manner; 2. Requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, at its thirtyfifth session, to elaborate modalities and procedures for the inclusion of carbon dioxide capture and storage in geological formations as project activitiesunder the clean development mechanism, with a view to recommending a decision to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol at its seventh session; 3. Decides that the modalities and procedures referred to in paragraph 2 above shall address the following issues: (a) The selection of the storage site for carbon dioxide capture and storage in geologicalformations shall be based on stringent and robust criteria in order to seek to ensure the long-term permanence of the storage of carbon dioxide and the long-term integrity of the storage site; (b) Stringent monitoring plans shall be in place and be applied during and beyond the crediting period in order to reduce the risk to the environmental integrity of carbon dioxide capture and storage ingeological formations;

(c) Further consideration is required as regards the suitability of the use of modelling, taking into account the scientific uncertainties surrounding existing models, in meeting the stringency requirements of such monitoring plans, in particular taking into account the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories; (d) The criteria for site selection andmonitoring plans shall be decided upon by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and may draw upon relevant guidelines by international bodies, such as the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories; (e) The boundaries of carbon dioxide capture and storage in geological formations shall include all above-ground and undergroundinstallations and storage sites, as well as all potential sources of carbon dioxide that can be released into the atmosphere, involved in the capture, treatment, transportation, injection and storage of carbon dioxide, and any potential migratory pathways of the carbon dioxide plume, including a pathway resulting from dissolution of the carbon dioxide in underground water; (f) identified; The...