Energy Industry

Energy industries require a sharp shift on its process to reduce its environmental impact. Energy-focused international organizations are doing huge efforts to more sustainable development and solution.

 

International energy laws and policies are handled by numerous agencies, including the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the International Energy Agency, the Energy Charter Conference and Secretariat, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations and its agencies, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency, and the European Union.

Understanding the development and operation of these organizations is relevant to know the obligations of both developed and developing countries in emission reduction measures. 

Challenges and Opportunities

The atmospheric CO2 concentration increased from about 280 to 379 ppmv during the years between 1750 and 2005. The total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is calculated to be about 2,956 Gt in 2005. The fossil fuels deposit about 4,000 Gt of carbon. Global annual CO2 emissions from fossil fuels were about 26.4 Gt in the period 2000 to 2005. If all the carbon storing in fossil fuels had been emitted into the atmosphere, the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere would increase to 2,265 ppmv.

The CO2 can be separated directly from the flue gas via membrane contactor carbon capture system. This application is important to reduce man-made CO2 emissions. 

International Law and Policy

Thomas W. Wälde, in Encyclopedia of Energy, 2004

International Energy Agency

The IEA is the main international organization dealing with energy.  Its mandate, membership,  and operations are very limited; It is an intergovernmental energy policy institute for Western countries and manages an emergency sharing system. Its importance also derives from the fact that there is no global intergovernmental energy agency.

Energy Charter Conference and Secretariat

The Energy Charter Conference, served by its Secretariat, is the most recent addition to specialized, energy-focused international organizations. It is based on the Energy Charter Treaty and has the formal status of an international organization. The Secretariat services the negotiations for secondary and follow-up instruments (protocols) and supports treaty implementation. The ECT is an energy-focused treaty with all European countries.

European Union

The EU is not an international agency, but rather, under international law, a persona that is situated between a supranational organization and a federation of states. Each of the European Communities (EC; Euratom) has its own legal personality. The European Union combines the European Communities plus, as established by the Treaty of EU (the Amsterdam Treaty), the foreign and security policy and justice and home affairs ‘‘pillars.’’ 

The Council can authorize the Presidency to negotiate agreements with third parties, binding the EU. The EU’s formal legal status is, therefore, as with many EU matters, unclear; perhaps it could be qualified as a ‘‘partial and budding international legal person.’’ 

The ‘‘energy law’’ it produces is therefore both part of international energy law and the internal, domestic energy law of both the Union and (through direct effect and implementation by national law) the member states. The EU has, among all international organizations, been the most active producer of energy law over the past 15 years

United Nations

Climate Change Secretariat

For the energy industries, in particular the oil and gas and coal industry, the one UN activity with most relevance is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, with its Secretariat in Bonn.

Compensation Commission

The political arm of the UN has had an involvement in oil and gas affairs through the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), instituted after the Gulf War to administer Iraqi liability for war damage. The UN Compensation Commission practice should lead to international precedent for valuation of damage to the oil industry and oil-related environmental damages

United Nations Environment Program

The UN Development Program (UNDP) is the main UN development funding program, fed by voluntary contributions. Though the main funding is allocated to each country according to a population/poverty factor and spent according to national priorities. UNDP also runs several energy-related programs relating to small-scale energy development, development of renewable energies.

Compensation Commission

The political arm of the UN has had an involvement in oil and gas affairs through the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), instituted after the Gulf War to administer Iraqi liability for war damage. The UN Compensation Commission practice should lead to international precedent for valuation of damage to the oil industry and oil-related environmental damages

"A successful demonstration of the small scale 20 kTPA modular Ionada Membrance modular unit and its economical benefit would lead to the installation and implementation at hundreds of other existing and future sites (compression and batteries facilities with pipeline connections to major gas processing plants) and the CO2 captured would be able to gathered into major processing hubs for permanent sequestration of CO2."
Ryan
Client, Energy Plant, Canada


Current Solutions

Conventional carbon capture systems are large complex chemical plants, and requiring a long lead time to build.  They are practical for very large emitters such as refineries and cement plants with large emissions.    

These massive plants are not a practical solution for the small to mid-size carbon emitters less than one million tons per year.

Ionada Solution

Ionada is the first to market with a patented membrane contactor carbon capture system for small to mid-size carbon emitters, carbon emitters less than 200,000 tons per year.  Ionada’s carbon capture technology provides a compact and affordable solution to achieve net zero carbon emissions.

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