Field trials in Norway and the USA have shown that Carbon Dioxide burnt in power stations can be captured. The Norway experiment involved extracting CO2 from the emissions from a power station and pumping it into a North Sea oil well. The pressure of the gas facilitated the extraction of more oil from the reservoir, helping to extend the life of the oil field. This process is expensive, but could partially be off-set by increased oil extraction.
While many within the environmental movement would prefer to move away from the consumption of all fossil fuel, we must recognise that this will not be possible for many decades. China is arguably crucial to this debate, it has given a very strong indication that it will not forego its abundant coal reserves to protect its citizens from the appalling effects of sea level rise. China is willing, however, to look at carbon capture and storage as a means carry on burning fossil fuel, but to do so in a way which does not cause climate chaos.
Supporters of Option 10 demand that all new UK gas, oil and coal power stations built must have full carbon sequestration technology - capturing the CO2 to be pumped into North Sea oil fields. So while the nation develops the safe, clean renewable technologies we need, we can continue to burn fossil fuels in a responsible way.
To learn more about carbon capture and storage please visit the BBC online site. This article confirms that all Europe's greenhouse gas emissions could be stored within North Sea oil fields.
In the light of the rapid decline of North Sea oil and gas reserves there is now a compelling case to ensure the UK's energy security by increasing the mining of UK coal. This BBC online guide to carbon capture and storage explains more about the science of burning coal without all the toxic, and other, emissions usually associated with this fuel.
While Europe is blessed with vast space within North Sea oil wells within which it can bury its CO2, without the risk of leakage, other nations are not so fortunate. In Texas, for example, there was so much unmapped drilling into oil wells that CO2 will probably leak quite quickly should this method be attempted. A number of experiments are currently underway to establish the feasibility and cost implications of sequestering CO2 within porous rocks. This link provides an explanation of the technology involved in an experiment which the UK and EU is to help fund in China.