Major projects aiming at capturing and burying carbon dioxide underground have slowed worldwide, according to a study by the Global CCS Institute in Australia.
Despite the common view among experts that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies could play a crucial role in slowing the atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases, the number of major CCS projects fell from 75 to 65 over the past year.
Although the U.S. currently leads the world in CCS projects, most of them involve pumping carbon into old oil wells to stimulate additional oil production. China, the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide, seems poised to become the new leader in CCS, with 12 projects in the works, the study noted.
A major hurdle for the growth of CCS has been the lack of investments in projects based on new technologies, the analysts said. CCS technology has so far not proven to be commercially viable in the U.S. or abroad, The New York Times reported.
Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.
