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.