By Clint Chan Tack Thursday, February 4 2010

THE Government of Trinidad and Tobago has agreed to pursue membership in the Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Institute, further to an invitation from the Australian government. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke about this initiative when he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Port-of-Spain last November.

Australia will host the next CHOGM in 2011.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Global CCS Institute is a multinational initiative of the Australian government which is aimed at accelerating the international commercial development and implementation of carbon capture and storage technologies and commercial deployment of CCS.

The initiative was announced by the Australian government in September 2008 and was formally launched in April 2009. The Global CCS Institute was incorporated on June 12, 2009 as a not- for-profit company and became an independent legal entity in July 2009.

Given the vital nature of the institute, the Australian government has committed AUD$100 million annually over the medium term to establish and fund the Global CCS Institute to ensure the ongoing success of this initiative.

As a member of the Global CCS Institute, Trinidad and Tobago will benefit from several opportunities which are afforded by the Institute. These include: shaping the strategic direction of the Global CCS Institute through voting rights and proposing and voting on amendments to the constitution.

As a member of the Institute, this country will also be involved in sharing knowledge , information and expertise on: the development and deployment of safe, economic and environmentally sustainable commercial scale CCS projects; technologies that will capture, transport and store emissions, and provide expert insight on the costs and benefits of carbon solutions and the operational and legislative requirement needed to achieve success, and methods to build confidence in CCS and help drive the international momentum needed to provide a solution to the urgent problem of climate change; approving appointments to the board of directors and to the international advisory panel and nominating and voting on appointments to the board selection panel.

The ministry said as a oil producing country, Trinidad and Tobago recognises that there is a need for the reduction of carbon emissions and is committed to finding suitable and acceptable solutions to the climate change phenomenon. By becoming CCS technology-ready, Trinidad and Tobago will be positioning itself to take advantage of opportunities that may present themselves in the international market while reducing its own carbon emissions.

Membership in the Global CCS Institute is open to governments, non-governmental organisations and multinational corporations that demonstrate a legitimate interest in the advancement of CCS. The current membership of the Institute includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Members are required to pay a contingent liability fee of AUD$10

The Institute’s head office is located in Canberra, Australia and there are plans to establish satellite offices in other parts of the world.