The International Energy Agency held a high-level workshop today on the role that carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) can play in a cleaner and more resilient energy sector. The event brought together international experts from across governments, industry, NGOs and leading global institutions.
The workshop will inform IEA analysis for the new edition of the
flagship
Energy
Technology Perspectives (ETP) publication. First launched in 2006, the
ETP series has contributed to global energy and
environmental policy-making. To further strengthen
ETP’s relevance for decision-makers in governments and
industry, the IEA will revamp the publication and release a new edition in
mid-2020 with the aim of making it a global guidebook on clean energy
technologies.
Today’s workshop involved more than 80 experts from around the world,
with presentations and discussions centred on the potential for CCUS
technologies to support carbon-neutral energy systems. In particular, the value
of shared transport and storage infrastructure for CO₂, the importance of CCUS for
hard-to-mitigate emissions, and the role of carbon removal in the energy
transition featured in the discussions.
“When we consider the scale of the energy and climate challenge, the
critical importance of carbon capture is inescapable,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the
IEA’s Executive Director, who opened the event. “CCUS can make a major
contribution, and today’s workshop provides a valuable opportunity to reflect
on progress and identify how we can build a strong foundation for CCUS in the
coming decade.”
The 2020 edition of ETP
will place a special focus on the wide-ranging potential of CCUS, alongside
other key energy technologies, to support a long-term transition to a cleaner
and more resilient energy sector with net-zero emissions. It will identify the
industries in which CCUS is critical and cost-effective for tackling emissions,
and the ways in which its application in one sector can help emissions
reductions in others.