Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a clean energy technology for use at large industrial facilities that aims to capture emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), a greenhouse gas (GHG), before they are released into the atmosphere. It involves capturing CO₂ generated from large-scale fossil fuel use and production, transporting it by pipeline to a storage site, and then permanently storing it deep underground in suitable geological formations to prevent it from reaching the atmosphere where it can contribute to climate change. The Government of Canada is supporting carbon capture and storage with substantial investments in large-scale demonstration projects, including:

• Over $3 billion in funding for CCS projects with the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, including:
  • Under the Clean Energy Fund, announced investments totalling $466 million for three large-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects.
  • $240 million in Saskatchewan’s Boundary Dam clean coal initiative to build one of the world’s first and largest commercial-scale carbon capture and storage projects for coal-fired electricity.
  • Through our ecoENERGY Technology Initiative, $151 million for industry-led initiatives that will advance the technologies involved in carbon capture and storage.

The Government of Canada is committed to taking concrete action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by:

• Investing in clean energy technologies that demonstrate the greatest potential for progress, such as carbon capture and storage;
• Developing a broad suite of policies and programs to support the greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, a target that reflects the importance of aligning with US policy
• Moving forward aggressively with investments in clean energy technologies to reach this target and balance our need for energy with our need to protect the environment; and
• Working with the U.S., through the Clean Energy Dialogue, to spur rapid progress in clean energy technologies and help accelerate private sector investment to promote climate and energy security.

Canada is a world leader in the development and deployment of a number of key technologies, from carbon capture and storage to the use of forest and agricultural by-products to generate clean energy.