Global Status Report 2020
Policymaker Factsheet

IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATECHANGE, CARBON CAPTURE AND
STORAGE (CCS) IS A GAME-CHANGER.
Its ability to avoid CO2 emissions at their source and enable large-scale reduction of CO2 already inthe atmosphere via carbon dioxide removal technologies, make it an essential part of the solution.
To avoid the worst outcomes from climate change, the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5
degrees Celsius highlighted the importance of reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century. It presents
four pathways for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius – all require carbon dioxide
removal and three involve major use of CCS. The pathway that does not utilise CCS requires the mostradical changes in human behaviour.

ACHIEVING COST-EFFECTIVE
NET-ZERO EMISSIONS WITH CCSFOUR MAIN WAYS TO ACHIEVE COST-EFFECTIVE
NET-ZERO EMISSIONS THROUGH CCS INVESTMENT
ACHIEVING DEEP DECARBONISATION IN HARD-TO-ABATE INDUSTRY
The cement, iron and steel, and chemical sectors emit carbon due to the nature of their industrial processes
and have high-temperature heat requirements. They are among the hardest to decarbonise. Several reports1
conclude that achieving net-zero emissions in industries like these may be impossible and, at best, more
expensive without CCS. CCS is one of the most mature and cost-effective options for deep decarbonisationof hard-to-abate industry.

ENABLING THE PRODUCTION OF LOW-CARBON HYDROGEN AT SCALE
To decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors and reach net-zero emissions, global hydrogen production must growsignificantly, from 70 million tonnes per annum today2 to 425–650 million tonnes a year by mid-century.
Coal or natural gas with CCS is currently the most cost-effective way to produce low-carbon hydrogen. It is
likely to remain so in regions where large amounts of affordable renewable electricity for hydrogen production
with electrolysis is not available, and fossil fuel prices are low.

DELIVERING NEGATIVE EMISSIONS
Residual emissions in hard-to-abate sectors need to be compensated for. CCS provides the foundation fortechnology-based carbon dioxide removal, including bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) and direct air capture (DAC).
While carbon dioxide removal is not a silver bullet, every year that passes without significant reductions in CO2emissions, makes it more necessary.

PROVIDING LOW CARBON DISPATCHABLE POWER
Decarbonising power generation is crucial to achieving net-zero emissions. CCS equipped power plants supply
dispatchable and low-carbon electricity, as well as grid-stabilising services, such as inertia, frequency control
and voltage control. Therefore, CCS complements renewables, helping make the low-carbon grid of the future
resilient and reliable.

1 Including from the Energy Transition Commission and International Energy Agency (IEA)
2 70 Mtpa of pure H2 is currently produced. About 50Mtpa of H2 mixed with CO in syngas is also producedGlobal Status Report 2020
Policymaker Factsheet

SUPPORTIVE POLICY NEEDED TO INCENTIVISECCS INVESTMENT
To achieve net-zero emissions, today’s worldwide installed capacity of CCS must increase more than a hundredfold
by 2050. Stronger policy to incentivise rapid CCS investment is overdue. The current fleet of commercial CCS facilities
provides examples of the mix of policies and project characteristics that have facilitated investment.
Governments will choose a policy framework that best suits its circumstances, and so long as a viable business casecan be made, the private sector will invest in CCS. Like all technologies, CCS follows a learning curve whereby the costof developing a CCS project will come down with deployment. This in turn reduces the cost of development, allowing
smaller emitters to participate in investments. At the same time, risks are reduced with deployment through learningby doing, and this will lead to increased participation from financiers, including institutional investors.

BENEFITS OF CCS
Vital for reducing CO2 emissions, investment in CCS provides several economic and social benefits:

CREATING AND SUSTAINING HIGH-VALUE JOBSSUPPORTING ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH NEW NET-ZERO INDUSTRIES AND INNOVATIONENABLING INFRASTRUCTURE RE-USE AND THE DEFERRAL OF SHUT-DOWN COSTSCRITICALLY, CCS ALSO FACILITATES A ‘JUST TRANSITION’3

GLOBAL STATUS OF CCS (AS AT NOVEMBER 2020)
COMMERCIAL FACILITIESINTERNATIONAL CLIMATE POLICY
15 of the19 submitted long-term low-greenhouse-gas emission
development strategies (LEDS) under the UNFCCC have included CCS4.

OPERATIONAL

65

IN CONSTRUCTION
IN VARIOUS STAGESOF DEVELOPMENT28334
European Union, South Africa, Finland, Singapore, Slovakia, Portugal,Japan, Ukraine, UK, Czechia, France, US, Mexico, Germany and Canada

CURRENT INSTALLED CAPACITY

DELIVERING GLOBAL CLIMATE TARGETS

Today’s worldwide installed capacity of CCS exceeds 40 Mt per annum.

To achieve net-zero emissions, today’s installed CCS
capacity must increase more than a hundredfold by 2050.

40Mt

CAPTURED & STORED

3 Townsend et al., 2020
4 As at November 2020

2,000+LARGE-SCALE FACILITIESREQUIRED BY 2050