Carbon capture becomes focus for divisions at climate conference

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🗞️ Driving the news: The UN climate conference in Dubai highlighted carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a contentious issue, with a notable clash between the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• The IEA criticized the over-reliance on CCS for achieving net-zero emissions, which OPEC countered, accusing the IEA of a narrow perspective that underestimates energy security

🔭 The context: Currently, CCS plays a small role in global emissions reduction, with only 0.1% of energy-related emissions captured in 2022
• The IEA projects a significant increase in CCS by 2050, but even under optimistic scenarios, it would only contribute to 10% of emissions reductions.

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: CCS is seen as crucial for industries like cement, chemicals, and steel, which are hard to decarbonize. However, its use in electricity generation is limited due to high energy and water requirements, along with significant costs  
• The technology's broader adoption is challenged by its current inefficiency and expense.

⏭️ What's next: The future of CCS hinges on balancing its deployment with other net-zero approaches, considering its high cost and resource demands
• Addressing safety and social acceptability concerns, especially for underground storage, is crucial for its widespread acceptance

💬 One quote: "In a world characterised by a high price on emissions, other routes to net zero would become more viable and probably prove simpler."

📈 One stat: "Even under the IEA's more ambitious scenario, CCS would account for just 10% of cumulative emissions reductions between 2022 and 2050."

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