Experts from India and the United States recently discussed the challenges and opportunities to combat climate change through technology-led “carbon capture and utilisation solutions” at an event jointly organised by the Department of Science and Technology, India and the Department of Energy, USA.
The event, the Indo-US Scoping Workshop on Carbon Capture was held on 22 January. The DST Secretary said that at the recently concluded COP-26 at Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the country’s performance and ambitions to meet the climate goals. The Prime Minister aims for India to be a net-zero emissions nation by 2070. The Secretary added that under a strict climatic regime, India can identify and adopt a balance of portfolio of emission curtailment technologies. Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) research are among key pathways to reduce emissions while developing rapidly and sustainably at an unprecedented pace. CCUS aligns with five of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): climate action; clean energy industry; innovation and infrastructure; responsible consumption and production; and partnerships to achieve the goals, the Secretary informed at the first workshop on carbon capture.
According to a press release, the Secretary went on to outline the recent DST initiatives that are technology-led research and development projects in the area of CCUS. DST became part of transnational multilateral platforms such as Mission Innovation and Accelerating CCUS Technologies (ACT) along with other member countries, including the USA to collaborate in CCUS research. DST and DoE SA have launched a series of Indo US Scoping Workshops on CCUS, they began on 21 January and will end on 25 February 2022. It will explore the complementary strengths and gaps in the area of CCUS between the two countries and evolve collaborative technology-led endeavours to achieve net-zero carbon goals.
A representative from the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), DoE, stated that India is a valuable partner in developing new technologies to help in combating climate and clean energy goals. This partnership was underscored when last year the Indian Prime Minister launched the India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership. The representative gave an overview of US initiatives regarding clean energy and said it is a global crisis and requires a global response in clean energy technologies and an international partnership to achieve carbon net-zero status. She hoped that this workshop would provide an opportunity to broaden and deeper collaborations and engagements.
The participants included academicians, researchers, industry experts, and policymakers from domains of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage, climate change, and environmental engineering. Experts from both countries delivered their technical insights and views for broad discussions about carbon capture. They covered opportunities and challenges to evolve future collaborative tech-driven projects between India and the US. A recent report by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water said that India needs cumulative investments of US$10 trillion to attain net-zero by 2070. This is in line with global assessments that the world needs more than US$100 trillion to address climate change. This is possible only through a partnership between governments and the private sector.
