Carbon Capture Projects Decline

Fighting climate change requires government support and market-driven policies to encourage more applications of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies, according to a report by the Global CCS Institute. The international organization, which includes some 370 governments, corporations, and research institutions, says 13 carbon dioxide capture and sequestration projects were canceled, reduced, or held up last year because of insufficient financing and government support. In all, the report says 65 large-scale CCS projects were operating in 2013, a decline from 75 a year earlier. China, the report says, is moving fastest, with 12 CCS projects, ranking second to the U.S., which has 20. Current projects are inadequate to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions, the report notes. Although CCS technology is available, there is insufficient government support to provide a business case for development and growth of CCS projects. In the U.S., CCS technologies would be required for new coal-fired power plants to meet EPA’s proposed CO₂ emissions limits. Instead, this requirement would likely lead owners of new power plants to turn to natural gas, which can meet emissions limits without CCS.