CO2 capture can tackle climate change, but at high costs

On Monday, the IPCC has issued the results of an expert survey on the potential of carbon sequestration and deep storage in CO2-emitting plants. The potential is high: Between 15 and 55% of all CO2-reductions until 2100 could be generated with end-of-the-pipe technologies. However, the experts still see high costs for this, ranging from 25 to 80% rise in power prices (0.01 to 0.05 $/kWh, see Reuters). Greenpeace seems to have read another report: They draw the conclusion that "there are still far too many questions about environmental risk, safety and costs for CCS to be deployed on a scale that would make it economically viable" (Gabriela von Goerne, Greenpeace Germany).

One of the authors of the report, Kenneth Caldeira, of Stanford University, was cited by The New York Times: "The reality of it is that the energy in fossil fuels is too attractive and cheap right now to give them up completely." However, I still wonder why: Electricity from wind power in good wind sites is on the edge of beating fossil fuels on the production cost side, and biomass is catching up fast. Therefore, the potential and need for carbon capture and storage might turn out to be lower then expected.