In recent years, Carbon Capture and Storage (Sequestration) (CCS) has been proposed as a potential method to allow the continued use of fossil-fuelled power stations whilst preventing emissions of CO 2 from reaching the atmosphere. Gas, coal (and biomass)-fired power stations can respond to changes in demand more readily than many other sources of electricity production, hence the importance of retaining them as an option in the energy mix. Here, we review the leading CO 2 capture technologies, available in the short and long term, and their technological maturity, before discussing CO 2 transport and storage. Current pilot plants and demonstrations are highlighted, as is the importance of optimising the CCS system as a whole. Other topics briefly discussed include the viability of both the capture of CO 2 from the air and CO 2 reutilisation as climate change mitigation strategies. Finally, we discuss the economic and legal aspects of CCS.

The capture of carbon dioxide at the point of emission from coal- or gas-burning power plants is an attractive route to reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. To commercialize carbon capture, as well as transport of liquified carbon dioxide and its storage in exploited oil fields or saline formations, many technological, commercial, and political hurdles remain to be overcome. Urgent action is required if carbon capture and storage is to play a large role in limiting climate change.

ABSTRACT:Anthropogenic energy-related CO 2 emissions are higher than ever. With new fossil fuel power plants, growing energy-intensive industries and new sources of fossil fuels in development further emissions increase seems inevitable. The rapid application of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a much heralded means to tackle emissions from both existing and future sources. However, despite extensive and successful research and development, progress in deploying CCS has stalled. No fossil fuel burning power plants, the greatest source of CO 2 emissions, are currently using CCS, and publicly supported CCS demonstration programmes are struggling to deliver actual projects. Yet, CCS remains a core component of national and global emissions reduction scenarios. Governments have to either increase commitment to CCS through much more active market support and emissions regulation, or accept its failure and recognise that continued expansion of fossil fuel burning energy capacity is a severe threat to attaining climate change mitigation objectives.

How will the global atmosphere and climate be protected? Achieving net-zero CO emissions will require carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce current GHG emission rates, and negative emissions technology (NET) to recapture previously emitted greenhouse gases. Delivering NET requires radical cost and regulatory innovation to impact on climate mitigation. Present NET exemplars are few, are at small-scale and not deployable within a decade, with the exception of rock weathering, or direct injection of CO into selected ocean water masses. To keep warming less than 2°C, bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) has been modelled but does not yet exist at industrial scale. CCS already exists in many forms and at low cost. However, CCS has no political drivers to enforce its deployment. We make a new analysis of all global CCS projects and model the build rate out to 2050, deducing this is 100 times too slow. Our projection to 2050 captures just 700 Mt CO yr, not the minimum 6000 Mt CO yr required to meet the 2°C target. Hence new policies are needed to incentivize commercial CCS. A first urgent action for all countries is to commercially assess their CO storage. A second simple action is to assign a Certificate of CO Storage onto producers of fossil carbon, mandating a progressively increasing proportion of CO to be stored. No CCS means no 2°C.This article is part of the theme issue 'The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'.

The useful energy services and energy density value of fossil carbon fuels could be retained for longer timescales into the future if their combustion is balanced by CO 2 recapture and storage. We assess the global balance between fossil carbon supply, and the sufficiency (size) and capability (technology, security) of candidate carbon stores. A hierarchy of value for extraction-to-storage pairings is proposed, which is augmented by classification of CO 2 containment as 'temporary' <1000 yr; or 'permanent' > 100,000 yr. Using 'temporary' stores is inefficient and defers an inter-generational problem. Permanent storage capacity is adequate to technically match current fossil fuel reserves. However, rates of storage creation cannot balance current and expected rates of fossil fuel extraction and CO 2 consequences. Extraction of conventional natural gas is uniquely holistic because it creates capacity to re-inject an equivalent tonnage of carbon for storage into the same reservoir, and can re-use gas extraction infrastructure for storage. By contrast, balancing the extraction of coal, oil, biomass, and unconventional fossil fuels requires the engineering and validation of additional carbon storage. Such storage is, to date, un-proven in sufficiency.