Global CCS Institute: CO2 Capture Projects Increase But Cut Only 1% Of Emissions For Now 

While the number of CO2 capture projects reached a record high in 2022, a study by the Australia-based Global CCS Institute found that the technology only removes less than 1% of all yearly emissions, Bloomberg reported.  

There are 153 CO2 capture and storage (CCS) projects in the planning phase, 30 projects currently operating, and 11 under construction, the think tank discovered from its annual survey of the industry. 

The U.S. is the number one country with 34 proposed CCS projects, followed by Canada, the UK, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, and Iceland. What stimulated investment in these countries were favorable conditions such as high CO2 prices, tax credits, and direct grants, the report said. 

Collectively, the new projects will store 244 million tons of carbon per year, or less than 1% of the 36 billion tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere, the study found.

Relevant: Study Says Carbon Capture Does Not Reduce Emissions Sufficiently

The existing CCS projects usually focus on natural gas processing, while the most common applications for the ones currently in development are ethanol production, power generation, and manufacture of blue hydrogen.

Technologies such as Direct Air Capture (DAC) are becoming increasingly popular for hard-to-abate industries like cement and steal. 

“CCS is the Swiss Army knife of climate mitigation – it will continue to play multiple, unique roles in decarbonizing the global economy,” said Jarad Daniels, chief executive officer of the Global CCS Institute. “Many essential industries like cement and chemical production have no other viable path for deep decarbonization other than CCS.”

Last year, the Global CCS Institute estimated that an investment between $655 billion and $1.28 trillion is needed so that CCS technologies could bring emissions down by 15% by 2050. 

Read more: New Study Examines Cost Of Carbon Capture From Industrial Processes