A Policy Strategy for Carbon Capture and Storage

Successful deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is critically dependent on comprehensive policy support. While policy plays an important role in the deployment of many low-carbon technologies, it is especially crucial for CCS. This is because, in contrast to renewable energy or applications of energy efficiency, CCS generates no revenue, nor other market benefits, so long as there is no price on CO2 emissions. It is both costly to install and, once in place, has increased operating costs. Effective, well-designed policy support is essential in overcoming these barriers and the subsequent deployment of CCS technology. This guide for policy makers aims to assist those involved in designing national and international policies around CCS. It covers development of CCS from its early stages through to wide-scale deployment of the technology. The focus is both on incentives for conventional fossil-fuel CCS and for bioenergy with CCS (BECCS).