Energy firms, such as Shell and BP, should have to pay for carbon storage to help meet global net zero targets, according to a new report.
Firms should face “take back” obligations for their emissions, argue scientists from the UK, Netherlands and the US, adding “a huge upscaling in carbon capture and storage” will be needed for targets to be met.
Energy firms face three dilemmas, they said, including having to provide energy security, offer cheap fuel and abide by climate goals, of all which “conflict” with each other.
By holding carbon emitters responsible for their output, climate issues could be solved more simply and cheaply, the scientists claim.
“Implementing extended producer responsibility through a combination of geological CO2 storage and nature-based solutions can deliver net zero at comparable or lower costs than conventional scenarios,” they said.
“It would also mean that the principal beneficiary of high fossil fuel prices, the fossil fuel industry itself, plays its part in addressing the climate challenge.”
These “conventional scenarios” include global carbon prices and constraints on storage, but would likely be less effective, the group said.
Myles Allen, co-author of the report, added: “The failure has been policy, not technology.”
“The technology exists,” he added.
Carbon capture sees CO2 emissions taken from industrial processes and injected into underground rock formations for permanent storage, including from power generation, steel making and cement production for example.
According to National Grid, former oil and gas reservoirs and salt mines can be used for this, so long as they are at least 0.6 miles deep.
As of 2019, there were 51 large-scale carbon capture and storage plants across the world, with over 200mln tonnes of emissions already having been saved by American sites since 1972.