Carbon capture and storage (CCS) was a transition measure between South Africa’s reliance on fossil fuels to a greater reliance on nuclear or renewable energy forms, South African National Energy Research Institute (Saneri) senior manager Tony Surridge said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Energy Efficiency 2009 conference, he noted that there had to be greater focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy, not only because of climate change, but also to ensure the sustainability of energy.

Energy efficiency would lead to lower costs as a percentage of gross domestic product, he said.

Meanwhile, he noted that it was unlikely that CCS would be implemented in South Africa without carbon trading, as this was needed to offset the high cost of CCS.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) did not currently accept CCS for trading, but the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was dealing with this issue.

South Africa’s carbon dioxide (CO²) storage atlas, which would use existing geological information to identify potential future storage sites for CO², remained on schedule to be published in the middle of next year, said Surridge.

The South African storage atlas project was started in 2008.

The country was also planning to implement a CO² injection pilot project by 2016, after which it would develop a demonstration plant by 2020.