Possible to slash CO2 emissions by 85 percent by 2050: NGO

Yahoo News 5 Jun 08;

From biomass plants to burying carbon dioxide, Norwegian environmental group Bellona on Thursday listed a slew of methods it said would enable an 85-percent reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

"Combating global warming is a tremendous challenge, but it is not insurmountable," Bellona chief Frederic Hauge said in a report published at a climate seminar in the southeastern town of Sarpsborg.

"The very same human ability and industrial capacity that created the problem can solve it," he added.

In its report "How to combat global warming: the Bellona scenario," the non-governmental organisation offers what its says is the recipe for a greatly reduced carbon dioxide diet, using a mix of technology and altered behavior.

In order to slash CO2 emissions by 85 percent in just 42 years, we will have to change our way of life as products are priced according to their contribution to climate change, as energy efficiency is improved, renewable energy sources developed and the forests preserved and expanded.

The group also came out in support of expanding the use of a new technology called carbon capture and storage, or CCS, which today is used by heavy industry and at some thermal power stations running on gas or coal.

The technology, which involves injecting millions of tonnes of CO2 into the seabed, could show even greater effect if used in power stations run on biomass, Bellona said, pointing .

Using CCS at a plant run on biomass like algae, which through photosynthesis absorbs large amounts of CO2, would for instance make it possible to not only reduce emissions but actually help drain existing carbon from the planet, providing "carbon negative energy," the group said.

"Whether you were watching TV, vacuuming the house, or driving your electric car to visit friends and family, you would be removing CO2 from the atmosphere," Hauge said.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world will need to slash CO2 emissions by between 50 and 85 percent by 2050 to avoid a global temperature increase of more than two degrees Celsius and, which would entail major natural disasters.