Q&A: Does the World Need “Carbon Capture & Storage” to Reach Net-Zero?

This is a big-picture climate policy story rather than something that changes what you'd do at home, but it touches on how power and heat get decarbonized nationally, which eventually shapes utility rates and grid mix.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is technology that pulls CO2 out of factory or power plant exhaust and injects it underground so it doesn't reach the atmosphere. Many climate roadmaps, including those from the International Energy Agency and the UN's climate science body, treat it as necessary for cutting emissions from industries like cement and steel that are hard to clean up any other way. But CCS has repeatedly fallen short of past predictions. Today it captures only a tiny fraction of global fossil-fuel emissions, and most of the CO2 captured so far is used to pump more oil out of the ground, not stored for good. Analyses show many existing projects capture far less CO2 than intended.

The UK offers a case study: it has pledged up to £21.7 billion over 25 years for CCS "clusters," largely funded through charges added to consumer energy bills. Critics argue the money should go to industries like cement, where there are no good alternatives, rather than gas power plants and hydrogen production, which lock in continued gas use and imports. Government advisers still call CCS essential for reaching net-zero, though they've scaled back how much they expect it to contribute. For homeowners, the practical takeaway is indirect: how much CCS gets built, and where, will influence electricity costs and the pace of the broader shift toward cleaner power over the coming decade.