Carbon Capture and Storage, a Necessary Tool to Fight Climate Change

In December 2015, the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) adopted the Paris Agreement, intending to limit global warming to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts to 1.5°C.

In late 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a special report on the impacts of global warming ranging from 1-5°C to 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Their analysis shows that the consequences of a 2°C of global warming would be far worse than those of a 1.5°C.

To fight against global warming, carbon neutrality should be achieved by 2050.

All sources agree that society must urgently break away from the unsustainable way energy is currently consumed to tackle climate change linked to anthropogenic GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions. All scenarios established by the International Energy Agency (IEA) anticipating carbon neutrality by 2050 or after, confirm the need to shift for cleaner energy systems to achieve the net-zero emissions and to move even further towards negative emissions.

Meeting the net-zero target

To meet the net-zero target, a mix of radical transformations is urgently required, the main ones being:

• improving the energy efficiency of our economies,
• developing non-fossil fuel-based energy sources and, last but not least,
• implementing Carbon Capture Usage & Storage (CCUS) on existing and future facilities.

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) covers all technologies dedicated to removing CO₂ from flue gas, industrial gases, natural gas and the atmosphere, recycling this CO₂ for utilization (U) in chemical applications, for instance, and/or storing (S) it in geological cavities. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a subset of CCUS, as its name suggests.

Among the radical transformations proposed for the energy sector, heavy industries and transport, Carbon Capture and Storage is ranked among the top solutions to reach the vital goal of the net-zero target. As stated in IEA’s 2020 Global Status of CCS report, “Without CCS, net-zero is practically impossible.”

Deep decarbonization of those sectors where GHG emissions remain hard to abate is, therefore, a priority. Meanwhile, more and more CCS projects are emerging worldwide, with varying degrees of maturity and with a tendency for grouping in clusters and hubs for reasons of efficiency and economies of scale. The two main carbon capture technologies are post- and pre-combustion comprising a range of technical solutions developed in recent years by way of capturing the CO₂.

In below video, Jean Sentenac, Axens Chairman & CEO, shares his insights on reducing GHG Emissions with Carbon Capture.