The European Union wants 12 demonstration plants for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) in operation by 2015, and they are preparing to fund development of the technology with up to10 billion euros (or US$14 billion), according to a Reurters report.
CCS is a process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants and other sources and pumping them underground for permanent storage in depleted oil fields. The technology has yet to be tested on a large scale and is criticized by many for potential environmental risks and for diverting funds that should be used to develop clean energy.
However, CCS is viewed by many politicians as a "silver bullet," which could allow utilities to continue burning plentiful supplies of coal for years to come, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The EU is considering making available funds from it Emissions Trading Scheme available for CCS, though it has opposed the idea until recently, according to the report.
European company Siemens (NYSE: SI) and General Electric (NYSE: GE) are two of the companies working to develop CCS systems.
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