CCUS is essential for India to reach its decarbonization goals

New Delhi: Niti Aayog on Tuesday launched the report on Carbon Capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) policy framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India. 

The report explores the importance of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage as an emission reduction strategy to achieve deep decarbonization from the hard-to-abate sectors. It also outlines broad level policy interventions needed across various sectors for its application.

As, India has updated its NDC targets the role of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) becomes important as reduction strategy to achieve decarbonization from the hard-to abate sectors. 

CCUS projects will also lead to a significant employment generation. It estimates that about 750 mtpa of carbon capture by 2050 can create employment opportunities of about 8-10 million on full time equivalent (FTE) basis in a phased manner.

The report called upon “incentive based” policy framework including promoting innovation, transfer carbon capture technologies for adoption of CCUS in India.

It was launched by Vice Chairman Niti Aayog Suman Bery, in the presence of Power secretary Alok Kumar, Dr V Saraswat, member Niti Aayog and other officials in New Delhi.

The report was prepared on the valuable inputs provided by the various stakeholders from the Energy and Power Sector (E&P).

Earlier the government had put the draft policy titled ‘2030 Roadmap for CCUS for Upstream E&P companies’ in the public domain for suggestions from all the stakeholders’ holders in the country.

The purpose of CCUS policy framework is to develop and implement a practicable framework to accelerate research and development on carbon capture, utilisation and storage in India.

This report is oriented towards formulating a framework for CCUS policies in India and variable economic model for CCUS adoption and implementation in various industries and sector.

It also covered whether to pursue an incentive or cash and tax credits-based policy or a carbon tax-based policy in Indian prospective.

The report also advocates for a CCUS technology and investment enabling carbon fund for India, which will enable CCUS deployment to be finically feasible in India and designing the structure.

As India is the third largest emitter of CO2 in the world after China and US of about 2.6 gigatonne per annum, carbon capture utilisation and storage are an essential imperative for India to reach its Decarbonisation Goals.

At COP 26 late year at Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Panchamrit to mitigate climate change including achieving net zero by 2070.

The government of India has also committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2050. 

Speaking at the event Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog Suman K. Bery said, that CCUS has an important and critical role to play for India to achieve net zero by 2070.

“CCUS can enable the production of clean products while still utilizing our rich endowments of coal, reducing imports and thus leading to an Atmanirbhar Indian economy” he added.

According to the report, carbon capture utilisation and storage is an essential imperative for India to reach its Decarbonisation Goals.

CCUS is key to ensure sustainable development and growth in India particularly for the production of clean products and energy leading to a self-reliant economy.

It also has an important role to play in decarbonising the power sector, given India’s present reliance on coal for meeting over 70 percent of its electricity needs.

Recent International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) studies have also indicated the central role carbon capture is going to play in decarbonizing the environment.

 In fact, pathways that aim for limiting warming to 1.5 °C by 2100 will have to rely on large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) measures.

All major economies of World including USA, China, Japan, and UK are very optimistic about the role of CCUS in their pathway to sustainable development, with several projects already under operation and many more under advanced stage of being executed.

Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia and Malaysia have also included CCUS in their pathway to sustainable development.