When the price of hydrocarbons is relatively high, policies directed towards the capture and geological storage of carbon become more attractive. The European Commission has estimated that with CO₂ priced at a € 44 / tonne, the capture and storage of this and other greenhouse gases would reduce their levels by 7.4% during the period from 2013 to 2020. In Spain, the average cost of emission rights in 2008 was € 21 / tonne, as compared with € 5.7 /tonne in 2007. Hydrogen will be produced by processing the natural gas, and the decarbonisation process will result in the CO₂ being pumped back into the ground. One example was the signing of a draft agreement on environmental issues by members of the G8 group of countries. This took place on the Japanese island of Hokkaido in the middle of July, and the event was particularly notable for the USA’s inclusion in the global commitment to reduce CO₂ emissions by at least half between now and 2050, as well as for the call on emerging nations (especially China and India) to give serious consideration to signing up to this target. This was the last such meeting before the Conference of signatories to the UN Convention on Climate Change, held in the Polish city of Poznan in December.

This summit was held to prepare the proposals that would be discussed during the meeting to be held in Copenhagen towards the end of 2009. The main, seemingly insoluble problem was that developed countries refused to agree to ambitious undertakings on greenhouse gas reduction unless the larger emerging economies also agreed to specific reduction targets. The about-turn came when China and India agreed to reduce their emissions by between 15 and 20% by 2020, as compared with the emissions that would be generated if no corrective action were taken.

It would therefore seem that a new agreement to replace Kyoto from 2012 is now closer.