Oil, gas and coal still made up 81.5 percent of the global energy mix in 2022 — down just 3 percent from 2015, when the Paris climate agreement was signed.
Given the slow pace of the energy transition, carbon capture and storage, or CCS, has the potential to become an important technology for achieving net zero. Advocates believe that without CCS — which gathers emissions, processes them and stores them safely underground — we simply won’t meet our climate targets.
But the technology faces a range of obstacles. Campaign groups believe CCS offers oil and gas companies a free pass to keep extracting and burning fossil fuels. Others worry about the safety of stored carbon dioxide. There are also practical constraints. CCS technology, while proven, is expensive to install, and needs subsidies and financial incentives to encourage the industry to make the short-term capital investment needed.
In this podcast episode produced by POLITICO Studio, science and technology writer Adam Green interviews leading European experts from industry and policy about the need for CCS, what’s holding it back and where it fits into Europe’s energy transition.
Ruth Herbert, CEO of Carbon Capture and Storage Association, breaks down the fundamentals of CCS. Chris Davies, a former member of the European Parliament and now director of CCS Europe, talks about the need to educate the public on the safety of onshore CCS. Jan Theulen, of building material producer Heidelberg Materials, explains why industries such as cement, where production itself results in large CO2 emissions, will need CCS most. And Torbjørg Klara Heskestad, vice president for global CCS solutions at Equinor, speaks about shared infrastructure that will help reduce the costs of CCS for carbon emitters.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
EU election 101 — your questions answered
How Russian disinformation could skew EU election — and whether Europe can fight it
Who votes for the European far right? And why?
Debate time! EU lead candidates go head-to-head
European Parliament in review — MEP unAwards 2024
Brussels buzzwords of the week: competitiveness and Bolshewokism
EU election latest: Knives out for Ursula von der Leyen
'If you want peace, prepare for war': How an old saying is making a comeback in Europe
Farmers lead the EU climate backlash
Portuguese voters' anger and what it means for Europe
Inside the European People's Party Congress 2024
European Parliament election 2024 — state of play
VDL 2.0 — How Europe and Ukraine have changed, two years into Russia's all-out war
Europe responds to Donald Trump
Can the EU defend Ukraine (and itself)?
Europe's angry farmers and EU funds for Ukraine (finally)
'Rent is too damn high!' Europe’s growing housing crisis
Can the EU manage migration?
EU top jobs kickoff — finding compromise with Viktor Orbán
What's in store for Europe in 2024?
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
POLITICO Europe