Storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) under the seabed will be allowed from 10 February 2007, under amendments to an international agreement governing the dumping of wastes at sea.

The amendments to the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 (London Protocol) were adopted on 2 November 2006 at the First Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the London Protocol.

The amendments regulate the sequestration of CO₂ streams from CO₂ capture processes in sub-seabed geological formations, for permanent isolation, thereby creating a basis in international environmental law to regulate this practice. It is likely that this option would apply to large point sources of CO₂ emissions, including power plants using fossil fuels, steel works and fuel processing plants.

Sequestration of CO₂ streams is intended to be part of a suite of measures to tackle the challenge of climate change and ocean acidification, including, first and foremost, the need to further develop and use low carbon forms of energy and conservation measures to reduce emissions.

Guidelines on how to store CO₂ in sub-seabed geological formations will be developed for adoption by the Parties to the London Protocol when they meet for their second session in November 2007. These guidelines will address how to store CO₂ in a manner that meets all the requirements of the Protocol and is safe for the marine environment, over both the short- and long-term.

The 1996 Protocol, which entered into force on 24 March 2006, takes a precautionary approach and prohibits the dumping of wastes at sea, except for certain substances, listed in the Annex 1 to the Protocol . "CO₂ streams from CO₂ capture processes for sequestration" have now been added to this list.

The amendments state that carbon dioxide streams may only be considered for dumping, if: disposal is into a sub-seabed geological formation; they consist overwhelmingly of carbon dioxide (they may contain incidental associated substances derived from the source material and the capture and sequestration processes used); and no wastes or other matter are added for the purpose of disposing of them.

The 1996 Protocol has currently been ratified by 30 countries and replaces the London Convention 1972 for those countries. The 1972 Convention has been ratified by 81 countries.

Briefing 5, 9 February2007

For further information please contact:
Lee Adamson, Head, Public Information Services on 020 7587 3153 (media@imo.org) or
Natasha Brown, External Relations Officer on 020 7587 3274 (media@imo.org).

Annex 1

The annex lists the following wastes or other matter which may be considered for dumping: 1 dredged material; 2 sewage sludge; 3 fish waste, or material resulting from industrial fish processing operations; 4 vessels and platforms or other man-made structures at sea; 5 inert, inorganic geological material; 6 organic material of natural origin; 7 bulky items primarily comprising iron, steel, concrete and similarly unharmful materials for which the concern is physical impact, and limited to those circumstances where such wastes are generated at locations, such as small islands with isolated communities, having no practicable access to disposal options other than dumping; and 8 CO₂ streams from CO₂ capture processes for sequestration.