Considering carbon capture and storage’s pros and cons is central to any discussion around climate change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies trap carbon emissions from power plants and industrial facilities.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> They thereby prevent these emissions from entering the Earth\u2019s atmosphere. They also compress and transport the carbon dioxide (CO2), ready for storage.<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> CCS can reduce atmospheric levels of CO2 and help prevent global warming.<\/span><\/p>\n However, CCS remains controversial as a climate mitigation method.<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> Despite decades of interest, and billions of dollars in public funding, there are just 19 large-scale industrial and two large-scale CCS power plants in operation.<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> An increase in carbon capture capacity by a factor of 35 by 2030 is required to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals<\/a>.<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> This is unlikely to be achieved as it takes six to ten years for CCS projects to complete. Furthermore, there are only 20 projects currently in development worldwide.<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Fossil fuels and industry produce 89 per cent of all human-caused carbon emissions.<\/span>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> CO2 in the atmosphere is the primary cause of global warming.<\/span>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> This situation is not likely to change in the short term. Coal, oil and natural gas still supply 84 per cent of the world\u2019s energy.<\/span>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span>. CCS has the potential to mitigate a large portion of carbon emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n Global CCS facilities capture about 40 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2 per year.<\/span>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> However, 80 per cent of this captured carbon is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).<\/span>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> EOR is a technique employed by the oil industry to obtain hard-to-reach oil from deep reservoirs.<\/span>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> Combustion of this oil results in more CO2 emissions and exacerbates the effects of global warming.<\/span>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> Therefore, CCS is contributing to climate change \u2013 instead of preventing emissions \u2013 for the majority of the time.<\/span><\/p>\n CCS is also competing with renewable energy sources for funding. A major proponent of CCS, the International Energy Agency (IEA), has a history of underestimating clean energy<\/a><\/span>15<\/sup><\/a><\/span> and overestimating CCS.<\/span>16<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> For example, in 2010, they predicted that globally installed solar capacity would hit about 85 gigawatts (GW) by 2017.<\/span>17<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> In fact, the figure reached was 402 GW.<\/span>18<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> Meanwhile, the IEA projected that by 2020, at least 30 CCS projects would be operational, capturing and storing 50 Mt of CO2 annually.<\/span>19<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> This has not materialised.<\/span><\/p>\n The world urgently needs to transition away from using dirty fossil fuels. Renewables, such as solar, wind and hydropower, are clean energy sources because they do not produce CO2 emissions.<\/span>20<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> Significant investment in the sector is needed to prevent a 1.5\u00b0C increase in average global temperatures.<\/span>21<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> The funding currently going towards CCS facilities could help supply this. <\/span><\/p>\n If we stop using fossil fuels, we will not need expensive and unreliable CCS technologies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How does CCS work? Considering carbon capture and storage’s pros and cons is central to any discussion around climate change.\u00a0 Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies trap carbon emissions from power plants and industrial facilities. They thereby prevent these emissions from entering the Earth\u2019s atmosphere. They also compress and transport the carbon dioxide (CO2), ready […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":2405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,210],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCarbon capture and storage (CCS): Pros<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Carbon capture and storage (CCS): Cons<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Carbon capture and storage: Benefits & disadvantages conclusion<\/h2>\n