The Paris Agreement includes an aim of achieving net zero global greenhouse gas emissions in the second half of the century.

CCUS has the potential to support decarbonisation of the economy, subject to its costs coming down sufficiently.

Working domestically and internationally with industry and other governments to accelerate global deployment and bring about global cost reductions. There is a new opportunity for the UK to become a global technology leader for CCUS.

CCUS could be an important technology for decarbonising energy intensive industries (EIIs), including iron and steel, cement, chemicals, and oil refining. Some of these industries produce volumes of emissions from chemical processes, in addition to combustion of fossil fuels, for example, up to 70% of emissions from cement production are from the process of producing cement, rather than from energy use. These emissions cannot be abated by fuel switching or electrification.

The UK has a world-leading offshore oil and gas industry and strong domestic supply chain. It has an established skills base which is well-placed to develop a domestic carbon dioxide infrastructure network and export its expertise world-wide. With the potential to store more than 78 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide59, the UK can be a world leader in carbon dioxide storage services, providing new economic opportunities by providing carbon dioxide storage for UK and European emissions for over a hundred years