The Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu released a book “Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilization (CCSU)” edited by Ms. Malti Goel, M. Sudhakar and R.V. Shahi, here today. The book deals with the issue of mitigating climate change concerns arising out of emission of carbondioxide in atmosphere. It is a collection of papers prepared by eminent authors. R.V. Shahi is the Former Power Secretary, Govt. of India, Malti Goel, Former Advisor in the Ministry of Science and Technology, and M. Sudhakar, Advisor/Scientist, Ministry of Earth Sciences. The book has been published by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) a Nongovernmental organization which works for sustaining environment with a global vision and a local focus. Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilization(CCSU) is a global response to the challenge of climate change mitigation. It is an emerging energy technology dealing with capturing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, storing it away in underground reservoir and / or utilizing it by conversion to various food, feedstock and fuels etc.
Suresh Prabhu said that Ministry of Railways is the biggest consumer of energy in the country. While it mostly uses electricity and diesel but now using alternate sources of energy like wind, solar, CNG and Bio fuels. Referring to the energy scenario in the country, he said that while India is making vigorous efforts to use alternate sources of energy like solar energy, wind geo thermal, bio fuels but our dependence on fossil fuel will continue for many years. Therefore it is imperative that problems and challenges arising out of carbondioxide emissions are addressed approximately. Global efforts in this direction, particularly during last ten years, have raised some optimism that in coming years Carbon Capture and Storage could become a reality and very soon thereafter could even become cost effective. All efforts have to be mobilized to see that these technologies become relevant for developing economies to adapt. It is should be the responsibility of developed economies to share the findings of various researches, so that these become affordable for developing economies. Indian Industry and Research Institutions have also to do and contribute much more than they have been doing so far.
Shri Shahi, while introducing the book mentioned that even though the Carbon Capture and Storage Technology might take some time to be cost effective, it is important that Indian industry consuming coal become responsive towards research and technology development. There is a need for networking and integrating global efforts in this direction. Malti Goel while explaining the concept of carbon capture said that “ Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is among the advanced energy technologies suggested to make the conventional fossil fuel sources environmentally sustainable. It is of particular importance to coal –based economies. Emphasizing the importance of this sustainable technology Anupama Jauhary Head TERI Press said that TERI is committed toward finding innovative solutions for a sustainable future and our latest publication provides a possible climate change solution for energy industry. She also hoped Carbon Capture, Storage ad Utilization will prove beneficial for the readers in their research and academic pursuits. The climate change concerns arising from combustion and increasing accumulation of green house gases have given rise to the need for development of clean energy technologies; and CO 2 mitigation is one of them. While increasing use of solar energy for CO2 management is taking place leading to social transformations, among its different options CCSU is receiving attention as an emerging energy technology from both scientific community and policy makers.