What is carbon capture and storage (#CCS)? And is it carbon dioxide removal (#cdr)?

Over and over again, I see CCS and CDR being equated. This leads to a range of misunderstandings 😕 Let´s tidy up this one 🔎

The key is where the CO2 is coming from: either the #atmosphere or a #fossil source.

1️⃣ When CO2 is captured from the atmosphere and the carbon is sequestered permanently (geologically or chemically), it is carbon dioxide removal = CDR. Examples of this are Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage (#DACCS), Pyrogenic Carbon Capture and Storage (#PyCCS), or Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (#BECCS).

2️⃣ When CO2 is captured from a fossil source underground, usually in an industrial process, and then sequestered back underground, it is an emission avoidance and thus not CDR. This is often referred to as “point-source CCS”. Examples are power plants, chemical plants, or heavy industries like cement, steel, or aluminum production.

↪ Why does this matter? Atmospheric CCS has a net negative emission footprint. Without carbon removal, CO2 would still be in the atmosphere and actively contributing to steadily rising average temperatures. Point-source CCS is, at best, net neutral. If we didn´t burn the fossil source in the first place, the carbon would have remained underground.

In public discussions, the term “CCS” implicitly means “fossil/point-source CCS” (as a quick google search will confirm). But because we do not make this differentiation explicit, CDR is often dragged into a complex debate (point-source CCS is worthy of a post on its own. IMO we need both).

Atmospheric CCS and fossil/point-source CCS also have completely different purposes and industries supporting them. Further, technologies, practices, and standards are rapidly evolving in these two ecosystems wholly independent of one another.

This is an appeal for us all to start using the right terminology by simply adding the terms “atmospheric” and “fossil/point-source” before CCS.

Agreed? What is your take on the matter?

[ADDED] Na'im Merchant posted an excellent blog post on exactly this topic just a few hours after me, making similar points in much more detailed - check it out: https://lnkd.in/dJVaizaV