The political economy of carbon capture and storage: An analysis of two demonstration projects
The political economy of carbon capture and storage: An analysis of two demonstration projects
复制标题
碳捕获与封存的政治经济学：两个示范项目的分析
DOI：
10.1016/j.techfore.2015.09.010
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发表时间：
2016
影响因子：
12
通讯作者：
Kern F
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kern F
碳捕获和储存（CCS）技术被国际机构和世界各国政府视为减缓气候变化的关键。该技术被认为是有利的，因为它可以使化石燃料的持续利用，同时抑制碳排放。然而，该技术在实地的发展仍然缓慢。人们普遍认为，大规模的综合示范项目是走向商业化的下一步。尽管有几个国家的政府支持，但迄今为止全世界几乎没有项目。这篇文章提出了为什么要启动示范项目如此困难的问题。论证的论点是，决定论证可行性的不仅是项目的具体因素，而且鉴于需要政府支持，各种政治经济因素影响决策者和公司的决策过程。本文介绍了一个分析框架的基础上开发的政治经济学文献，认为六套因素的影响结果。它讨论了两个具体的项目，英国的Longannet和加拿大的Quest，并解释了为什么一个失败了，另一个正在建设中。分析表明，尽管与加拿大相比，气候变化是英国更重要的政策问题，但阿尔伯塔等化石燃料丰富省份的具体政治经济形势导致了Quest项目的推进。
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology is considered key to mitigating climate change by international institutions and governments around the world. The technology is considered advantageous because it may enable the continued utilization of fossil fuels while curbing carbon emissions. However, development of the technology remains slow on the ground. It is generally argued that large-scale, integrated demonstration projects are needed as a next step toward commercialization. Despite government support in several countries, few projects exist so far worldwide. This paper asks why it is so difficult to get demonstration projects off the ground. The argument is that it is not only project-specific factors that determine the feasibility of demonstration, but given the need for government support, a variety of political economy factors influence decision-making processes by policy makers and companies. The paper introduces an analytical framework developed on the basis of the political economy literature that considers six sets of factors that influence outcomes. It discusses two specific projects, Longannet in the UK and Quest in Canada, and explains why one failed and the other one is under construction. The analysis shows that although climate change has been a more important policy concern in the UK compared to Canada, the specific political economy situation of fossil fuel rich provinces like Alberta has led to the Quest project going forward.