Meet the Global CCS Advocates

“Both CCS and CCU are strategic climate mitigation technologies for the EU. We need to make our carbon cycles sustainable and ensure that hard-to-abate industrial processes decarbonise to reach net-zero as soon as possible. In the EU internal market we have a common regulatory framework in place to ensure environmentally safe geological storage of CO2. We now need to invest in the necessary CO2 transport and storage infrastructures to allow our industries to neutralise their process emissions, in line with our climate targets for 2030 and 2050.”

“Recently, hardly a day goes by without an exciting press release describing a new technology. Given the contemporary enthusiasm for CDR, it is worth pausing and recalling that this concept is not as new as one might be tempted to think. In fact, research into CDR pathways date back to at least the mid-1990s, with bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), mineral carbonation, and direct air capture (DAC) part of the earliest discussions. Afforestation and reforestation were also part of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol’s “clean development mechanism”. However, it is fair to say that the recent proliferation of net zero commitments has substantially increased the profile of carbon dioxide removal (CDR). When one looks carefully at developing net zero transition strategies, CDR emerges as an important part of the solution. Given the urgency of the transition, there will be some point sources of emissions that are too costly, too diffuse, or too remote for direct mitigation. In this context, CDR will be vital. However, it is also vital that CDR, when deployed, is able to do a credible job of compensating for the emissions it is ostensibly addressing. Ensuring this credibility is key to addressing concerns regarding “moral hazard” or “mitigation deterrence”. When one carefully considers the costs associated with developing, maintaining, monitoring, reporting, and verifying a carbon sink, it will be unlikely to be cheaper than mitigation – it is an “and and” solution, not an “either or”.

“As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency make abundantly clear, we cannot meet our global climate targets without the economywide, at-scale deployment across the entire carbon management value chain, including carbon capture, direct air capture and other carbon removal, carbon conversion, and CO2 transport and storage.

For decades, the U.S. Department of Energy has supported and advanced research and  development (R&D) to move carbon management technologies from the lab to commercialization.  And, for the first time, the recent Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Biden provide a comprehensive and transformative framework of federal funding and financial incentives to accelerate commercial deployment of carbon management technologies in the marketplace, as well as build out critical infrastructure for regional CO2 transport and storage hubs.

We now find ourselves at a hopeful and exciting moment, with greater opportunities than ever before in the U.S. and internationally to develop and deploy carbon management technologies and infrastructure at climate scale.  Toward that end, the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute’s (GCCSI) annual Global Status Report provides an indispensable resource for policymakers, the media, industry, labor unions, NGO advocates and other key stakeholders.

We appreciate GCCSI’s ongoing efforts to help realize the global potential of carbon management to help achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury, retain and create high-wage energy, industrial and manufacturing jobs, and provide tangible environmental and economic benefits to communities in the U.S. and around the world.”

“One of the most important tasks we face is to increase awareness and recognition of the fact that CCS offers mature, reliable, scientifically proven, safe, permanent and cost-effective climate solutions. A major way to break the classic chicken-and-egg dilemma facing CCS, is the continued implementation of successful projects. At Carbfix, we are in the fortunate position of having operated an underground mineral storage site for 10 years, with high levels of local awareness and acceptance. We are therefore well positioned to bring this to scale, most notably by building Coda Terminal, the world’s first mineral storage hub, which we believe will become the first of many to be built in strategic locations around the world following its demonstration in Iceland.”

“Communities of color have borne the brunt of the climate crisis and pollution for far too long. The carbon management sector must recognize that environmental harms impact frontline communities disproportionately and these harms are perpetuated throughout the energy and industrial sectors. As tools like carbon capture and storage become more necessary to draw down emissions in difficult-to-abate sectors like heavy industry, communities and their needs must be understood and prioritized in all aspects of project development. This includes finding transparent ways to enfranchise communities beyond projects, recognizing that communities are not monolithic. Engagement is more than just consulting a community when a project has been sited, rather it involves the uniting of expertise from science and industry as well as local advocates who are experts in the history and lived-experiences of their community.

As we near the 1.5 to 2 degree Celsius warming limit, we must find a way forward to tackle the already present climate crisis, while enacting justice to right historical wrongs and prevent future harms, so that we may protect the most vulnerable among us.”

“Working alongside academic institutions and technical experts, the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme has worked meticulously to share information that addresses the value of CCUS, and the critical role the technology plays in mitigating climate change. The Global Status of CCS Report continues to be a valued measure of global CCUS progress, further highlighting its rise in deployment year-by-year. Without question, the world needs CCS to achieve net-zero. We know how to develop it, and this report illustrates that adoption of the technology is steadily on the rise. Good planets are hard to find, so let’s keep the CCUS momentum going as one of the many needed, and proven, climate solutions.” 

“2022 is a pivotal year for Direct Air Capture and Storage: the Inflation Reduction Act passed into law in the US, creating a viable business case for DACS, and Carbon Engineering’s global plant deployment partners, 1PointFive announced construction to start on a DAC facility in Texas capturing an initial 0.5 million tonnes of CO₂ per annum. Whilst that is a huge step up from today, the focus must now shift to the next challenge: 100 Mt+ in the next decade if we are to stay on track to achieve climate targets. That’s going to require other regions to show the climate policy leadership of the US, and the build-out of supply chains at unprecedented pace. It will also require rapid establishment of common CCS infrastructure to deliver emission reduction from point-sources such as cement production and decarbonisation of hard-to-abate, dispersed emissions, such as those from aviation via carbon removal to scale as the DAC industry grows.” 

“It is increasingly well understood that carbon capture and storage is an indispensable part of climate mitigation. To accomplish the deployment of CCS at necessary scale, we need action through enduring policy and financing frameworks.

In May this year, the Japanese government released an interim summary of the “CCS Long-Term Roadmap,” which aims for early social implementation of CCS in Japan.

The roadmap incorporates items such as the acceleration of efforts to resolve issues that have been identified (cost reduction, establishment of a means of CO₂ transportation, securing suitable storage sites, and improvement of the business environment including legal systems), while taking into account the results of the Tomakomai CCS Demonstration Project.

Furthermore, JCCS, as a member of a consortium, has been entrusted with the NEDO demonstration project on ship transportation of liquefied CO₂ since last year, and is currently constructing a CO₂ liquefaction and shipping terminal in Maizuru, Kyoto and a receiving terminal in Tomakomai, Hokkaido.

We will work together with the Japanese government for the further advancement of CCS technologies.”

“ As momentum for CCUS accelerates, the oil and gas industry is harnessing decades of experience to lead the development of CCUS projects around the world. In Australia, APPEA members are proudly at the forefront of CCUS. Chevron’s Gorgon project – the world’s largest dedicated CO₂ storage project – has been operating for over 2 years and Santos’ Moomba CCS project will start in 2024. Companies including Exxon, Origin, INPEX and Woodside are also behind the growing pipeline of Australian CCUS projects.

This investment paves the way for substantial emissions reductions not just from our sector but from across the Australian economy. CCUS can deliver competitive, large-scale abatement for heavy industries and provide a platform for low-emissions hydrogen and ammonia production, unlocking new export opportunities.  

The skills and experience of the oil and gas industry make it uniquely placed to develop Australia’s CO₂ storage resources safely and efficiently. We look forward to continuing to play our role in the development and deployment of CCUS as a critical technology for net zero.”

“The current times are a stark reminder of the complexity and deficiencies of the energy system, as well as the multifaceted factors shaping it. Marrying energy security with climate goals is ultimately a question of pursuing all viable technological and policy options in order to achieve rapid decarbonisation needs and to secure stable and affordable energy supply for European businesses and citizens.

With governments centering low-carbon hydrogen as a key decarbonization strategy, carbon capture and storage along with methane controls are a crucial for asset transformation and creating global climate-aligned fuels markets.

As part of RePower EU, the European Commission announced its intention to bring carbon capture and storage to global markets solutions. A Europe-wide new carbon capture and storage strategy to coordinate investment, standards, and cross-border infrastructure will be key to progress toward this goal and enable global technology availability.”

“Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is an essential technological option to achieve Carbon Neutrality in China. CCUS plays an important role in establishing the energy security and reaching sustainable development goals. This technology is the only viable way for large-scale low-carbon utilisation of coal and other fossil fuels, while ensuring grid flexibility in the future.

As a strategic emerging industry, CCUS brings mutual benefits in improving economic competitiveness, promoting social development and fulfilling environmental protection. CCUS is deemed to create a new engine of green economy, drive the joint development of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and promote the formation of a low-carbon circular economy.”