Abatement of CO2 emissions: IFP's solutions

In a context of increasing energy consumption and world economic growth, the fight against greenhouse gases has become a major technological challenge for the coming years. The capture and sequestration of CO2 in the underground is a promising solution in terms of environmental impact, especially in places and sectors characterized by a strong concentration of CO2 emissions (power generation plants, big industries). However, such a solution requires important R and D efforts to reduce the costs and warrant the long-term reliability of the storage. The French institute of petroleum (IFP) will play an important role in the implementation of the geological sequestration. This press kit comprises 7 documents: a press release from November 4, 2003; a press conference with a series of slides presenting the stakes, solutions and actions proposed by the IFP in collaboration with several foreign partners (CO2 capture, storage in depleted hydrocarbon deposits, saline aquifers or abandoned coal seams, storage potential, reduction of costs); a summary of the stakes and solutions for CO2 sequestration in deep underground; a similar document presented at the Panorama 2003 colloquium; the CO2 constraint in France and in Europe (international consensus on climatic change, Kyoto protocol, European directive about tradable carbon permits, voluntary commitment of companies in the fight against greenhouse effects (AERES)); the European project Castor (CO2 from capture to storage); and the IFP brochure 'innovating for a sustainable development in the energy domain'. (J.S.)