THE ROLE OF CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY IN ATTAINING GLOBAL CLIMATE STABILITY TARGETS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

The report reviews multiple global and regional studies to determine the necessity of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for climate mitigation. It concludes that most experts view CCS as a key technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to stabilization levels by 2030-2050, often serving as a cost-effective alternative to massive nuclear expansion or extremely ambitious energy efficiency and renewable targets.

• Most expert studies indicate that achieving climate change mitigation without the use of fossil fuels combined with CCS would be less effective and more costly than if CCS systems were deployed in a timely manner.
• A 2007 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study found that fossil fuels with CCS could provide up to 26% of the global energy supply by 2050, avoiding 3.8 GtC of emissions annually, and are necessary to meet energy needs within a strict carbon budget.
• Analysis for the United Kingdom suggests a heavy reliance on CCS to meet emissions targets; Friends of the Earth (2006) estimated CCS must account for 40% or more of UK primary energy by 2050, while the UK Department of Trade and Industry (2005) found that without new nuclear power, CCS would need to provide almost 50% of UK electricity to reach a 60% CO2 reduction target.
• The International Energy Agency's (IEA) 'TECH Plus' scenario indicates that fossil fuels with CCS could contribute 20.2% of global CO2 emissions reductions by 2050. Furthermore, the absence of CCS could increase marginal CO2 abatement costs in Europe by approximately 70% in some scenarios.
• Research using the MiniCAM model suggests that the availability of CCS could reduce the cost of stabilizing atmospheric CO2 concentrations at 550 ppmv by 50% or more, with some estimates showing cost reductions as high as 81%.
• The US Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) found that early and aggressive CCS deployment is a major factor in global CO2 stabilization. For a 'Level 1' stabilization target (450 ppmv), global installed fossil fuel electric generation capacity with CCS is projected to reach between 1495 and 2076 GW by 2050.
• McKinsey & Company's 2007 analysis for the US identified CCS as the single largest abatement option for 2030 in its mid-range case, with a potential of 385 Mt CO2e at an average cost of 44-49 $/ton.
• The report critiques a study by Krewitt et al. (2007) which claims stabilization is possible without CCS, arguing that it relies on 'very ambitious' efficiency assumptions and renewable deployment levels that may be impractical, such as requiring wind capacity 25 times current levels.

APA

Fowler, M. (2008). THE ROLE OF CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY IN ATTAINING GLOBAL CLIMATE STABILITY TARGETS: A LITERATURE REVIEW. Clean Air Task Force. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093449/200802-CCS_Review.pdf

Chicago

Fowler, Mike. THE ROLE OF CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY IN ATTAINING GLOBAL CLIMATE STABILITY TARGETS: A LITERATURE REVIEW. Clean Air Task Force, 2008. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093449/200802-CCS_Review.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fowler |first1=Mike |title=THE ROLE OF CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY IN ATTAINING GLOBAL CLIMATE STABILITY TARGETS: A LITERATURE REVIEW |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=February 2008 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093449/200802-CCS_Review.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fowler2008role, author = {Fowler, Mike}, title = {{THE ROLE OF CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE TECHNOLOGY IN ATTAINING GLOBAL CLIMATE STABILITY TARGETS: A LITERATURE REVIEW}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2008}, month = feb, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093449/200802-CCS_Review.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }