ANGHI/Shutterstock Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter Many in the oil sector seem to consider carbon capture and storage (CCS) an almost magical tool that would allow the industry to keep growing while at the same time helping the world with its net-zero journey. Climate models, however, suggest that net zero primarily involves a massive fossil fuel phase down, with CCS and similar technologies playing an important but secondary role. In the International Energy Agency's (IEA) net-zero scenario, for example — where CCS reaches a huge 6 billion tons of CO2 per year by 2050 — coal, oil and gas demand fall by 90%, 78% and 72% respectively between 2021-50. And, worse for the oil industry, CCS could become a better lifeline for coal than for gas, if large users, notably in the Asia-Pacific region, choose to bet on it for their huge coal-fired power capacity instead of switching it to gas.
