International legal and regulatory developments for carbon dioxide capture and storage: From the London Convention to the Clean Development Mechanism

Abstract

Several major international legal and regulatory instruments have seriously considered carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). This article describes the processes they underwent to consider CCS and produce ‘evidence-based policy-change’ on CCS, drawing upon scientific, technical, and engineering evidence from CCS, geological, and environmental sciences. The specific examples used will be the London Convention, OSPAR, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, and the Clean Development Mechanism. In particular, the work undertaken within the London Convention and OSPAR has provided the world with useful risk assessment and management guidelines for CCS, with wider applicability than those conventions. Lessons can be learnt from these instruments for the development of regulatory frameworks for CCS.

Keywords

carbon dioxide capture and storage legal regulation emissions trading marine environment ocean acidification monitoring

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