U.K. Pledges $97 Million for Carbon Capture in Emerging Markets

The U.K. allocated as much as 60 million pounds ($97 million) to encourage the development of carbon capture and storage technology in emerging markets.

The funds will boost projects and develop new partnerships, U.K. Energy Minister Greg Barker said today in a statement. The money was drawn from International Climate Finance funding that’s already been announced, the e-mailed statement said.

The International Energy Agency estimates that 3,400 plants using CCS technology are needed by 2050 to meet a goal of cutting carbon emissions in half. Efforts to introduce CCS are falling behind, along with nuclear power and biofuels, IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones told energy ministers from 23 nations today in London.

The U.K. funds contribute to the $200 million that should be allocated globally to speed up deployment of the technology, according to the Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Action Group, the government said in the statement.

“We recognize that it is important to ensure CCS is deployed in developing as well as developed countries,” Barker said in the statement. The U.K. is promoting the technology itself with a 1 billion-pound funding contest begun in April.

To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Sally Bakewell in London at Sbakewell1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net