Latest news with #UtilisationandStorage
Borneo Post
29-05-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
Sarawak unveils ambitious Sustainability Blueprint 2030 to lead Southeast Asia's green transition
Abang Johari (centre) shows the Sustainability Blueprint 2030 booklet while others look on. KUCHING (May 29): Sarawak has positioned itself as a regional leader in climate action with the launch of its Sustainability Blueprint 2030, a comprehensive roadmap aimed at accelerating the state's transition to a low-carbon, green economy. Unveiled by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg during the Asia Carbon Conference 2025 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today, the blueprint outlines 10 strategic thrusts, 48 strategies, and 111 actionable plans to guide the state's environmental and economic transformation. It was developed by the State Ministry of Energy and Environmental Sustainability. 'Sarawak is determined to lead Malaysia and the region in climate action and sustainable development,' Abang Johari said in his keynote address. He highlighted Sarawak's significant progress in renewable energy development, noting that hydropower now accounts for 70 per cent of the state's energy mix. This shift has enabled Sarawak to cut its grid carbon emissions by 72 per cent since 2010 – well ahead of its 2030 targets. He also pointed to the state's growing hydrogen economy and the deployment of solar and mini-hydro solutions for rural electrification, along with rising adoption of electric vehicles. He cited the Sarawak Methanol Complex, launched in 2024 and already exporting, as a key driver of green industrial growth. On carbon management, Sarawak is developing four carbon capture and storage (CCS) sites by 2030, with Petros spearheading the state's Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) strategy. The recently enacted Environment (Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Emission) Ordinance 2023, effective since March, mandates GHG reporting and lays the foundation for carbon levies and emissions trading. Additionally, Sarawak is working with the World Bank to establish a Carbon Levy framework and finalising a comprehensive Carbon Plan to support a regulated, investor-friendly carbon market. Sarawak's commitment to biodiversity was also emphasised. The state has launched a Biodiversity Masterplan, integrated conservation into development planning, and enabled biofuel production using palm oil waste. Seven forestry carbon study permits have been issued, with one nature-based carbon project licensed and six more under review. Sarawak also aims to publish a full greenhouse gas inventory by 2027 to benchmark emissions against a carbon budget. 'This is not just Sarawak's carbon journey as this is our contribution to the planet and future generations,' said Abang Johari. With Malaysia chairing Asean this year 2025, Sarawak is positioning itself as a regional model for green development. Abang Johari called on local and international partners to collaborate on sustainable projects, reaffirming Sarawak's openness to investment and cooperation. 'Sarawak is open for business, and more importantly, Sarawak is open for collaboration. 'This is not just Sarawak's carbon journey as this is our contribution to the planet and future generations,' he said. The Asia Carbon Conference (ACC), which runs from May 29-30 at the BCCK, provides a critical platform for discussions on carbon pricing, CCS, nature-based solutions, policy frameworks, and green investment opportunities. abang johari Sustainability Blueprint 2030
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
£22bn for 'unproven' green tech could raise bills, MPs warn
The government is committing billions of pounds to an "unproven" green technology for reducing planet-warming gases without considering the impact on consumers' bills, MPs have warned. Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) facilities prevent carbon dioxide, produced by industry, being released into the atmosphere by capturing and storing it underground. In October, the government pledged nearly £22bn for CCUS facilities and three quarters of the money will be raised from consumer bills. But on Friday, the House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee raised serious concerns that the government had not properly assessed the financial impact on households and businesses. What is carbon capture and can it fight climate change? Nearly £22bn pledged for carbon capture projects What does net zero mean? "It is an unproven technology, certainly in this country. And we are concerned this policy is going to have a very significant effect on consumers' and industry's electricity bills," said Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, a cross-party group of MPs which scrutinises public spending. The government said that it would formally respond to the committee, but that CCUS was a "necessity not an option" for reaching its climate goals. It said in a statement that this type of technology would make Britain's energy system secure, something that would lower electricity costs and bills. The UK has a target to reach "net zero" - meaning no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, by 2050. As the country switches to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels for heating homes and running cars, greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, will fall. But a small amount of gas will still need to be used to maintain electricity supply and there are some industries such as cement where there are few green alternatives. Carbon capture could prevent the CO2 produced by these processes from entering the atmosphere - and the government has bet achieving its climate goals on it. Both the UK's independent climate watchdog and the UN's climate science body, the IPCC, agree that CCUS will be needed if countries want to reach net zero and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. By 2050, the government wants carbon capture and storage to prevent the emitting of 50 million tonnes of CO2 - more than 10% of what the country currently releases - and has committed £21.7bn to achieving this goal. The funding, announced in October, will go towards clusters of carbon capture projects in Merseyside and Teesside, which it said would create thousands of jobs and attract private investment. Dr Stuart Jenkins, research fellow at the University of Oxford, pushed back on the committee's assessment of the technology. "I really don't like the phrase "unproven" technology, it is not representative of the status of the technology as an engineering problem," he said. Although there are no commercial CCUS sites in the UK, there are 45 commercial facilities already operating globally capturing around 50 million tonnes of CO2, and there are more than 700 being proposed or developed, according to the International Energy Agency. But Dr Jenkins did agree with the Public Accounts Committee that there were questions about whether the government's current funding model was sustainable. The committee have recommended that the full financial impact of the programme on consumers be properly assessed, taking account of cost-of-living pressures. The committee did recognise the importance of early government support for novel technologies like CCUS to give confidence to the industry. But it added it "was surprised" to discover that the government had signed two contracts with CCUS developers last year and not guaranteed that if the projects were successful that the government - and the public - would receive profits or benefits such as lower energy bills. "If you were a venture capitalist investing this sort of sum of money, which is effectively what the taxpayers are doing here, you would expect to have a big equity stake in this whole thing," said Sir Clifton-Brown. His committee recommended that any future contracts be changed to include profit-sharing mechanisms. The government said that it expected the £21.7bn funding for CCUS to unlock £8bn in private sector investment over the next 25 years. Mirte Boot, co-founder of Carbon Balance Initiative and research associate at University of Oxford, said her team's research suggests a better long-term model for financing could be introducing a carbon storage mandate - placing a legal obligation on fossil fuel producers to store a share of the CO2 they produce, or face a financial penalty. "We argue that carbon storage mandates on fossil fuel producers are fair whilst also providing the kind of investment certainty that companies need," she said. Public Accounts Committee A simple guide to climate change Four ways climate change worsens extreme weather What you can do to reduce carbon emissions Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
£22bn for 'unproven' green tech could raise bills, MPs warn
The government is committing billions of pounds to an "unproven" green technology for reducing planet-warming gases without considering the impact on consumers' bills, MPs have warned. Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) facilities prevent carbon dioxide, produced by industry, being released into the atmosphere by capturing and storing it underground. In October, the government pledged nearly £22bn for CCUS facilities and three quarters of the money will be raised from consumer bills. But on Friday, the House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee raised serious concerns that the government had not properly assessed the financial impact on households and businesses. What is carbon capture and can it fight climate change? Nearly £22bn pledged for carbon capture projects What does net zero mean? "It is an unproven technology, certainly in this country. And we are concerned this policy is going to have a very significant effect on consumers' and industry's electricity bills," said Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, a cross-party group of MPs which scrutinises public spending. The government said that it would formally respond to the committee, but that CCUS was a "necessity not an option" for reaching its climate goals. It said in a statement that this type of technology would make Britain's energy system secure, something that would lower electricity costs and bills. The UK has a target to reach "net zero" - meaning no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, by 2050. As the country switches to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels for heating homes and running cars, greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, will fall. But a small amount of gas will still need to be used to maintain electricity supply and there are some industries such as cement where there are few green alternatives. Carbon capture could prevent the CO2 produced by these processes from entering the atmosphere - and the government has bet achieving its climate goals on it. Both the UK's independent climate watchdog and the UN's climate science body, the IPCC, agree that CCUS will be needed if countries want to reach net zero and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. By 2050, the government wants carbon capture and storage to prevent the emitting of 50 million tonnes of CO2 - more than 10% of what the country currently releases - and has committed £21.7bn to achieving this goal. The funding, announced in October, will go towards clusters of carbon capture projects in Merseyside and Teesside, which it said would create thousands of jobs and attract private investment. Dr Stuart Jenkins, research fellow at the University of Oxford, pushed back on the committee's assessment of the technology. "I really don't like the phrase "unproven" technology, it is not representative of the status of the technology as an engineering problem," he said. Although there are no commercial CCUS sites in the UK, there are 45 commercial facilities already operating globally capturing around 50 million tonnes of CO2, and there are more than 700 being proposed or developed, according to the International Energy Agency. But Dr Jenkins did agree with the Public Accounts Committee that there were questions about whether the government's current funding model was sustainable. The committee have recommended that the full financial impact of the programme on consumers be properly assessed, taking account of cost-of-living pressures. The committee did recognise the importance of early government support for novel technologies like CCUS to give confidence to the industry. But it added it "was surprised" to discover that the government had signed two contracts with CCUS developers last year and not guaranteed that if the projects were successful that the government - and the public - would receive profits or benefits such as lower energy bills. "If you were a venture capitalist investing this sort of sum of money, which is effectively what the taxpayers are doing here, you would expect to have a big equity stake in this whole thing," said Sir Clifton-Brown. His committee recommended that any future contracts be changed to include profit-sharing mechanisms. The government said that it expected the £21.7bn funding for CCUS to unlock £8bn in private sector investment over the next 25 years. Mirte Boot, co-founder of Carbon Balance Initiative and research associate at University of Oxford, said her team's research suggests a better long-term model for financing could be introducing a carbon storage mandate - placing a legal obligation on fossil fuel producers to store a share of the CO2 they produce, or face a financial penalty. "We argue that carbon storage mandates on fossil fuel producers are fair whilst also providing the kind of investment certainty that companies need," she said. Public Accounts Committee A simple guide to climate change Four ways climate change worsens extreme weather What you can do to reduce carbon emissions Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
BBC News
07-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Billions risked on 'unproven' green tech, MPs warn
The government is committing billions of pounds to an "unproven" green technology for reducing planet-warming gases without considering the impact on consumers' bills, MPs have Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) facilities prevent carbon dioxide, produced by industry, being released into the atmosphere by capturing and storing it October, the government pledged nearly £22bn for CCUS facilities and three quarters of the money will be raised from consumer on Friday, the House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee raised serious concerns that the government had not properly assessed the financial impact on households and businesses. "It is an unproven technology, certainly in this country. And we are concerned this policy is going to have a very significant effect on consumers' and industry's electricity bills," said Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, a cross-party group of MPs which scrutinises public government said that it would formally respond to the committee, but that CCUS was a "necessity not an option" for reaching its climate said in a statement that this type of technology would make Britain's energy system secure, something that would lower electricity costs and bills. The UK has a target to reach "net zero" - meaning no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, by 2050. As the country switches to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels for heating homes and running cars, greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, will a small amount of gas will still need to be used to maintain electricity supply and there are some industries such as cement where there are few green alternatives. Carbon capture could prevent the CO2 produced by these processes from entering the atmosphere - and the government has bet achieving its climate goals on the UK's independent climate watchdog and the UN's climate science body, the IPCC, agree that CCUS will be needed if countries want to reach net zero and avoid the worst impacts of climate 2050, the government wants carbon capture and storage to prevent the emitting of 50 million tonnes of CO2 - more than 10% of what the country currently releases - and has committed £21.7bn to achieving this funding, announced in October, will go towards clusters of carbon capture projects in Merseyside and Teesside, which it said would create thousands of jobs and attract private Stuart Jenkins, research fellow at the University of Oxford, pushed back on the committee's assessment of the technology."I really don't like the phrase "unproven" technology, it is not representative of the status of the technology as an engineering problem," he there are no commercial CCUS sites in the UK, there are 45 commercial facilities already operating globally capturing around 50 million tonnes of CO2, and there are more than 700 being proposed or developed, according to the International Energy Dr Jenkins did agree with the Public Accounts Committee that there were questions about whether the government's current funding model was committee have recommended that the full financial impact of the programme on consumers be properly assessed, taking account of cost-of-living pressures. The committee did recognise the importance of early government support for novel technologies like CCUS to give confidence to the it added it "was surprised" to discover that the government had signed two contracts with CCUS developers last year and not guaranteed that if the projects were successful that the government - and the public - would receive profits or benefits such as lower energy bills."If you were a venture capitalist investing this sort of sum of money, which is effectively what the taxpayers are doing here, you would expect to have a big equity stake in this whole thing," said Sir committee recommended that any future contracts be changed to include profit-sharing government said that it expected the £21.7bn funding for CCUS to unlock £8bn in private sector investment over the next 25 years. Mirte Boot, co-founder of Carbon Balance Initiative and research associate at University of Oxford, said her team's research suggests a better long-term model for financing could be introducing a carbon storage mandate - placing a legal obligation on fossil fuel producers to store a share of the CO2 they produce, or face a financial penalty."We argue that carbon storage mandates on fossil fuel producers are fair whilst also providing the kind of investment certainty that companies need," she said. Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
