Carbon capture needs to ramp up significantly by 2030

Associate Editor

Cipher is proud to make our journalism free for all to read and republish. Unless otherwise noted, you may republish our articles for free as long as you abide by our Creative Commons license and the following terms: 

  • Credit Cipher and any co-reporting partners. In the byline, we prefer “Author Name, Publication(s).” At the top of the text of your story, include a line that reads: “This story was originally published by Cipher.” You must link the word “Cipher” to the original URL of the story.
  • If you’re republishing online, you must link to the URL of this story on ciphernews.com, include all of the links from our story and use our PixelPing tag.
  • If you use canonical metadata, please use the Cipher URL. For more information about canonical metadata, refer to this Google SEO link.
  • You can’t edit our material, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. (For example, “yesterday” can be changed to “last week,” and “Portland, Ore.” to “Portland” or “here.”
  • For questions or help, please email news@ciphernews.com with the subject line: “Republishing.”
<header><h1>Carbon capture needs to ramp up significantly by 2030</h1><a href="" rel="author"></a><span class="title"></span><time rel="pubdate" datetime="2023-10-11T00:00:00-04:00">Oct 11, 2023</time></header><p><span data-contrast="auto">Efforts to capture carbon dioxide emissions need to accelerate rapidly in the next seven years to get on track and help the world achieve net zero by mid-century, according to a new report. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">In its </span><a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-roadmap-a-global-pathway-to-keep-the-15-0c-goal-in-reach" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">Net Zero Roadmap</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">, first released in May 2021 and updated in September, the International Energy Agency incorporates policy, technology and financial developments to determine how to achieve net zero emissions from the energy sector by 2050. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Large growths in solar power and electric cars help ensure the path to such a future is still possible, despite largely stalled progress on other technologies ranging from wind power to carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), the report finds. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Right now, CCUS mitigates just 0.1% of total annual energy sector emissions. As a result, the IEA reduced the role of CCUS in its updated roadmap, although it still predicts the technology will be responsible for roughly 8% of cumulative emission reductions by 2050. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Bringing all announced carbon capture projects — including capturing CO2 directly from sources and from the ambient air — into operation by 2030 would increase capacity over eightfold. The increase, while significant, would still be just a third of what’s needed in that time. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Shortening the period from planning to deployment for these projects, especially for CO2 storage, will be key to getting carbon capture capacity on track by 2030, the report finds. Right now, the lead time for CCUS projects averages about six years. Adopting best practices could compress that to just four years. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">The lack of progress comes as controversy around all kinds of carbon capture is </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/25/carbon-dioxide-removal-tech-polarising-climate-science" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">growing</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">. Some critics contend the technology is untested at scale and never going to work as promised or will remain prohibitively expensive. Others say carbon capture gives fossil fuel companies a pass to continue business as usual instead of pivoting away from oil, coal and natural gas as quickly as possible. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p><p><span data-contrast="auto">Despite this tension, scientists </span><a href="https://ciphernews.com/articles/why-we-need-to-remove-carbon-from-the-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">generally agree</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> such technology is essential to meeting 2050 climate goals. </span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></p>
Carbon capture needs to ramp up significantly by 2030

by  - 

October 11, 2023


Efforts to capture carbon dioxide emissions need to accelerate rapidly in the next seven years to get on track and help the world achieve net zero by mid-century, according to a new report.   
In its Net Zero Roadmap, first released in May 2021 and updated in September, the International Energy Agency incorporates policy, technology and financial developments to determine how to achieve net zero emissions from the energy sector by 2050.  
Large growths in solar power and electric cars help ensure the path to such a future is still possible, despite largely stalled progress on other technologies ranging from wind power to carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), the report finds.  
Right now, CCUS mitigates just 0.1% of total annual energy sector emissions. As a result, the IEA reduced the role of CCUS in its updated roadmap, although it still predicts the technology will be responsible for roughly 8% of cumulative emission reductions by 2050.   
Bringing all announced carbon capture projects — including capturing CO2 directly from sources and from the ambient air — into operation by 2030 would increase capacity over eightfold. The increase, while significant, would still be just a third of what’s needed in that time.  
Shortening the period from planning to deployment for these projects, especially for CO2 storage, will be key to getting carbon capture capacity on track by 2030, the report finds. Right now, the lead time for CCUS projects averages about six years. Adopting best practices could compress that to just four years.  
The lack of progress comes as controversy around all kinds of carbon capture is growing. Some critics contend the technology is untested at scale and never going to work as promised or will remain prohibitively expensive. Others say carbon capture gives fossil fuel companies a pass to continue business as usual instead of pivoting away from oil, coal and natural gas as quickly as possible.  
Despite this tension, scientists generally agree such technology is essential to meeting 2050 climate goals.