Locked away – geological carbon storage | The Royal Society
This briefing explores the options for geological carbon dioxide (CO2 ) storage, with the aim of permanently removing CO2 from the atmosphere, and an emphasis on injecting CO2 offshore into either deep saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas fields.
Global greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 12% in the last decade, amounting to the highest increase in decadal average emissions on record. To limit warming to 1.5°C or less, future projections suggest that global greenhouse gas emissions must peak between 2020 – 2025, fall by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
To achieve these reductions and transition to a net zero energy system, there will need to be a significant decrease in overall fossil fuel use. However, there will be some end uses, mainly those from industrial processes, agriculture, and heavy-duty transport, that will struggle to decarbonise by 2050 targets.
The deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be vital to both capture emissions from residual point sources and for CO2 removal from the atmosphere.
