Imma Perfetto
Cosmos science journalist
A new report from Oxford Net Zero and Carbon Balance Initiative has presented a possible solution to a critical challenge facing the UK’s climate policy: how to develop carbon storage infrastructure while protecting public finances.
It presents a carbon storage mandate, referred to as the “Carbon Takeback Obligation” (CTBO), which would require fossil fuel suppliers to permanently store a rising percentage of their CO2 emissions. The group believes this approach could create a self-sustaining storage market while gradually reducing dependence on public funding.
Critics of carbon capture and storage (CCS) argue that the technology will allow fossil fuel companies to keep producing the emissions intensive energy, delaying a complete phase out of use.
“When paired with coal and gas, CCS is simply an attempt to prolong the life of polluting fossil fuels in our energy system,” says the Climate Council.
The technology needed to capture carbon dioxide from industrial polluters, or directly from the air, and store it is also still energy intensive and expensive.
Nevertheless, governments around the world are urging scientists and engineers to find a way to make it work.
In line with the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming below 2.0°C while pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, the UK’s legally binding Climate Change Act mandates it reach net zero emissions by 2050.
To do so requires a rapid reduction in the use of fossil fuels. But the UK has also identified it must reach “Geo Zero”, or geological net zero, by permanent geological storage of all residual carbon emissions from sources not yet electrified or replaced by an alternative fuel.
The UK has ambitions to store 50 megatonnes of CO2 annually by the mid-2030s – equivalent to the emissions from all its power stations today. However, reaching these targets will require billions in additional investment beyond current public funding commitments.
The new research found that current plans to rely mostly on the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to scale CCS from the 2030s are unlikely to attract sufficient private investment in carbon storage.
“Commercial carbon storage has started, but models show it will need to develop 100 times faster to protect net zero,” says Professor Stuart Haszeldine from the University of Edinburgh, who reviewed the report.
“Without change, these grant-funded projects may be the last. The Government must look at a supply-side obligation that integrates the cost of CO2 storage into wholesale fossil fuel prices.”
The report presents CTBO as an addition to the current policy suite which would require fossil fuel producers and importers to store – or pay third parties to store – a rising percentage of the CO2 embedded in their fossil fuel products.
“The fossil fuel industry has the resources to deliver the storage capacity we need,” says Professor Myles Allen, report author and Oxford Net Zero principal investigator.
“Making this a condition of their continued operation provides a practical pathway to net zero. Further policy development on this is urgently needed.”
The report suggests this would help drive investment in carbon storage and transition to a long-term mature and subsidy-free CCS market.
Its authors emphasise that CTBO is not a “magic bullet solution” and that: “… a comprehensive policy approach is key to achieving decarbonisation.” This includes critical policies that reduce fossil fuel demand while encouraging a switch to renewables.
“With the right policy design, the government could create a clear investment case for CCS and GGR without pushing the costs for CO2 clean-up onto taxpayers,” says Ingrid Sundvor, report author and executive director of Carbon Balance.
