Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination (Topic: Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage

Why in Broadcast?

Niti Aayog recently released a report named 'Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India'. The report explores into various aspects of the framework for CCUS policies in India and a viable economic model for CCUS adoption and it's implementation in various industries and sectors.

CCUS (as per IEA) can be defined as the group of technologies that capture carbon from various sources like fossil fuels, power plants etc.
This also involves transport of captured CO2, generally through shipping, railways etc., to sites for either utilisation or storing them permanently by injecting them into geological formation or depleted oil or gas fields.

The first CCUS projects started in 1970s and 1980s in Texas, USA, for capturing CO2 from natural gas processing plants to transport them to local oil producers for Enhanced Oil Recovery.
Although, confined largely in the areas of US, the global interest in CCUS grew after Paris Climate Agreement 2015.
It has spread into countries like UAE, Norway, Canada, Brazil, China etc.

India is the third largest emitter in the world with estimated annual emissions of almost 2.6 gigatonnes per annum.
The industrial sector in India contributed around 60% i.e. 1600 mtpa of CO2 emissions in 2020.
The remaining 40% came from sources like agriculture, transport etc. which is not amendable by CCUS.
Since India is committed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 and reach net zero by 2070, therefore it needs technologies which will abate emissions from the hard-to abate industrial sectors.
CCUS in India, for now is confined to certain industries and applications where CO2 capturing is the part of the process viz., manufacturing of Urea.
Although there are no commercial-scale dedicated CCUS projects in India.

The government needs to support and incentivize the innovation, development, transfer and adoption of CCUS technologies for rapid decarbonisation in India.
This should be done initially through transfer, assimilation and adoption of technologies while also working towards the development of the indigenous technologies, promoting R&D and private sector participation.
The report suggested to establish a financial framework like Carbon Capture Finance Corporation (CCFC) to support CCUS projects.

CCUS makes following contributions for decarbonisation and transition to clean energy:
Ensuring the sustenance of existing emitters, like industrial sectors which are essential for development.
Decarbonizing hard to abate sectors.
Promoting the low carbon hydrogen economy.
Removal of the CO2 stock from the atmosphere.