We know that carbon is emitted into the atmosphere whenever we burn any fossil fuel.  We also know who the worst culprits are: cars, lorries and power stations.  The UK alone emits more than 500 millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.  Though the UK is not the highest per capita emitting country, we are still a high user.

We are fairly sure that these emissions are having a harmful effect n the earth’s atmosphere … and are the cause of global warming. The best way of handling this situation is to emit less carbon but scientists are also looking at ways of ameliorating the effects of the carbon we do emit.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS  is the process of ‘capturing’ carbon, as it is emitted from large sources such as power stations, and preventing it from getting into the atmosphere.  Current research suggests that emissions from ‘treated’ plants could be cut by 80 – 90%. 

However this des not come without a price – the capture of carbon as it is created would raise the cost of energy production significantly.  However the price of not doing it might be higher still ,,, and, of course, moves to ’tax’ and ‘trade’ carbon will affect any financial measures and decisions.

Scientists and engineers have developed ways of capturing CO2 but long-term storage is a relatively new concept and various approaches are under discussion and under test.  Most approaches have been based around using oil and gas fields – whose own resources have been extracted – to house CO2 deposits.

As with all new technologies that impinge on the environment, a key problem is trying to identify the ‘unseen and unplanned’ consequences of any approach.  For example, storing carbon under the ocean might result in increased acidification of the water – a trend already growing as the amount f CO2 in the atmosphere increases.

However, new research by Professor Ballentine of the University of Manchester working with colleagues in Edinburgh and Toronto, looking at nine gas fields in North America, China and Europe has found that carbon dioxide has been stored safely and naturally in underground water in gas fields for millions of years.

This research, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in the UK and published in the scientific journal Nature, could bring large-scale CCS one step closer. It could – should – lead to more reliable and safer approaches to capturing and storing carbon.

This is only a temporary solution – we in he UK have to become a much lower carbon user … as does everyone else.  However it will give us – and the planet – some breathing space.