(459a) The Role of Carbon Capture in Meeting Net-Zero Carbon Goals

President Biden has laid out a bold and ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the U.S. by 2050. The pathway to that target includes cutting total greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and eliminating them entirely from the Nation’s electricity sector by 2035. Research, , development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) will be required to achieve the president’s objectives, including investments in both point source carbon capture and carbon dioxide removal approaches that target the accumulated pool of carbon in the atmosphere. Both will be required to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in time and they will require increased deployment on an accelerated timeline in order to move down the cost curve. These efforts, combined with effective policy, will improve the economic viability of the implementation of these critical approaches.

Deployment of these technologies at the scale required will necessitate the use of resources including land, water, and low-carbon energy, while ensuring the secure and reliable storage of carbon dioxide (CO₂) on a timescale that impacts climate. Therefore, CCS and CDR deployment must be implemented strategically in terms of regional goals and requirements.

The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and the National Energy Technology Laboratory will play an important role in the transition to net-zero carbon emissions by reducing the environmental impacts of fossil energy production and use. This includes helping decarbonize other hard-to abate industrial sectors through investments in approaches like CCS, direct air capture, and technologies to produce low-carbon products and fuel - including hydrogen.