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AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

IEA talks up CCUS as key

to reducing emissions

CCUS has a vital role to play in limiting global warning, the IEA says, but
more investment and research is needed, writes Richard Lockhart

GLOBAL THE IEA has promoted carbon capture and CCUS
underground storage (CCUS) as one of several The report said that CCUS can contribute to
WHAT: new technologies that must be developed if the reducing emissions in four ways.
Without CCUS, it will be world is to meet its Paris Agreement target. First, it can reduce emissions from existing
“virtually impossible” to IEA executive director Fatih Birol warned energy infrastructure such as power and indus-
limit global warning, the that without urgent actions by governments and trial plants.
IEA says major polluters it would be “virtually impossi- Secondly, it can help reduce emissions from
ble” to limit global warning. some of the most challenging sector of the econ-
WHY: He said this week that CCUS was one of the omy, such as cement, chemicals and aviation.
New technology is crucial four pillars that would allow the world to reduce Thirdly, CCUS can offer a cost-effective path-
in order to meet the Paris emissions successfully. way to develop low-carbon methods of hydro-
Agreement goalsc Crucially, the report said that CCUS is the gen production in many regions.
only group of technologies that contributes both Finally, it can remove CO2 from the
WHAT NEXT: to reducing emissions in key sectors directly atmosphere.
Government and polluters and to removing CO2 to balance emissions that CCUS has been talked about for decades, but
must create conditions are challenging to avoid. This is a critical part of its costs have been high and little effort has been
that support the scaling achieving “net” zero emissions. made to scale up the process or reduce costs.
up of the technology Birol said that CCUS was “critical” in the Today, there are 21 CCUS facilities around
transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy the world with the capacity to capture up to
alternatives. 40mn tonnes per year (tpy) of CO2.
“Without it, our energy and climate goals will Annual CCUS investment has consistently
become virtually impossible to reach,” he said. accounted for less than 0.5% of global invest-
He was speaking as the IES published a report ment in clean energy and efficiency technolo-
this week on CCUS, which also called for more gies, the report found.
investment in research into direct carbon cap- CCUS deployment tripled over the last dec-
ture schemes, which offer “significant potential.” ade, albeit from a low base – but it has fallen well
This involves absorbing carbon dioxide short of expectations.
already in the atmosphere in order to create car- In 2009, the IEA roadmap for CCUS set a tar-
bon neutral economies, although costs would get of developing 100 large-scale CCUS projects
need to fall to make any progress. between 2010 and 2020 to meet global climate

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 38 24•September•2020