The government of India is expected to introduce a Carbon Capture and Storage Policy for industries generating high levels of carbon dioxide within the next few days. The country’s public policy think tank Niti Aayog has already formulated such a policy after a series of discussions with the Union Ministry of Power, the Union Ministry of Coal, the Union Ministry of Environment, the Union Ministry of Steel, the Department of Science & Technology, Dastur, Tata Steel and a number of other stakeholders.
Once in place, the new carbon capture policy in India will aim to push the carbon neutrality agenda without putting an additional burden on the companies or the consumers. Sources reported that the new policy will be similar to the U.S. 45Q tax incentive for carbon sequestration, and will detail how to capture carbon from industrial units like steel, cement, and power, and where and how to store that CO2 deep underground.
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“The U.S. has been practicing this since the 70s quite successfully, without any risk or danger, and the U.S. government provides something like $85/metric ton incentive for capturing and underground storage of CO2,” said Atanu Mukherjee, President & CEO of Dastur. “India, quite like many other countries, has been dependent on fossil fuel for a long period of time. The recent focus on renewables cannot solve the entire problem.”
“India needs a policy framework for providing some incentives or credits for capturing and storing carbon meaningfully,” said Mukherjee, adding that India would be able to save and store one billion tons of carbon dioxide annually if such a policy is properly and effectively implemented. “The other advantage of carbon capture and storage would be that it would address the problem of depleting oilfields and foster enhanced oil recovery.”
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