Q&A: Does the world need ‘carbon capture and storage’ to reach net-zero?

Carbon capture and storage—known as CCS—is widely championed as essential for reaching net-zero. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change describes it as critical for some of the world's highest-emitting industries, such as cement production. The UK has committed twenty-one point seven billion pounds to building out a CCS industry as part of its net-zero strategy. Yet CCS faces fierce criticism. Opponents call it a false climate solution, citing high costs, ties to the fossil-fuel industry, and persistent underperformance. Carbon Brief reports that there are seventy-five operational CCS projects worldwide, capturing sixty-two point five million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually—roughly equivalent to Ecuador's yearly emissions. But here's the tension: roughly three-quarters of that captured carbon is used to extract more oil and gas, not to store it permanently underground. The International Energy Agency has characterized the story of CCS as largely one of unmet expectations.

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