Net zero demands huge carbon-capture investment – IEA

Project pipeline implies only a quarter of capacity needed by 2030, IEA says

Investment in carbon-capture technology is growing, but the pipeline of proposed projects would need to quadruple to meet 2030 the levels set out in the IEA’s main net-zero emissions (NZE) scenario. The existing slate of projects, some of which will not materialise, implies capture capacity of c.0.3Gt/yr by 2030, way short of the 1.2Gt/yr set out in the NZE scenario. “Carbon-management technologies are an important strategic tool in strong mitigation scenarios but by no means a silver bullet,” the IEA said in mid-April in a report titled Credible Pathways to 1.5°C. “The scale of deployment required in the NZE scenario is huge, equivalent to ten new CCUS‐equipped facilities commissioned each