A report on the policy framework of the Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage or CCUS prepared by the Niti Aayog and MN Dastur & Company says CCUS has a critical role to play for the country to halve CO2 emissions by 2050 and reach net-zero by 2070.
India’s per capita CO2 emissions were about 1.9 tonnes per annum, which was less than 40% of the global average and about one-fourth of that of China.
It is the technology for decarbonising carbon dioxide (CO2) from high polluting sectors such as steel, cement, oil, gas, petrochemicals, chemicals and fertilisers (contribute to 70% of emission).
The technology would help in promoting the low carbon-hydrogen economy and in removal of the CO2 stock from the atmosphere.
It could enable the production of clean products while utilising rich endowments of coal, reducing imports and thus leading to a self-reliant India economy.
It could enable sunrise sectors such as coal gasification and the nascent hydrogen economy in India.
Creation of value-added products such as green methanol, green ammonia
The key challenge would be to reduce the cost of the mechanisms to implement the technology.
CCUS policy should be carbon credits or incentives based, to seed and promote the
CCUS sector in India through tax and cash credits and later should transition to carbon taxes.
