The EU has set an ambitious target of commissioning by 2015 twelve demonstration power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The British Government strongly supports this target and believes CCS has the potential to becoming one of the most important tools in tackling the challenge of man-made climate change.

The Embassy supported a visit of three Latvian experts to London on 18-19 May 2008. The visit was organised jointly by the British Embassies in Central and Eastern Europe and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). The experts attended a workshop covering the institutional and regulatory framework of CCS, the role of the government, the economics of CCS, relevant EU policy and the perspective of the business sector.

The visit also offered an opportunity for the participants from the Central and Eastern Europe region to meet the main UK stakeholders (Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and business representatives).

Quotes from the Latvian participants: "It was very useful to learn about the UK experience regarding CCS, so that the Eastern European and Central European countries could evaluate all the arguments for and against the storage of CO2 in the subsoil of their countries." Inara Nulle, Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Agency.

"The plant planned in the UK may be very similar to the potential coal-fired plant in Kurzeme, Latvia. Therefore, all the following information about implementing the Pilot Project in the UK is of great value for us." Māris Balodis, Latvenergo.

"We gained a lot of information on development stage of CCS technology in the EU. This information will be useful later when transposing the CCS directive into Latvian legal acts." Andzela Petersone, Ministry of the Environment.