Carbon capture and storage

To stabilise atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) at reasonable levels, drastic cuts in anthropogenic emissions are required in the coming decades. Large industrial point sources, particularly power stations, account for some 30 per cent of anthropogenic CO2. Capturing CO2 from flue gases and disposing of it underground in depleted hydrocarbon fields or saline aquifers offers a way of significantly cutting this component of greenhouse gas emissions. UK annual emissions of CO2 exceed 500 million tonnes. Capturing and storing CO2 from just the twenty largest industrial sources would reduce total UK emissions by around 20 per cent.