Revision summary
CCUS is capture of carbon dioxide, then use in products or storage in deep rock. It is most justified in cement, some steel and fertiliser, where electrons cannot easily replace the process. The IPCC counts it in net-zero pathways, including possible negative emissions with bioenergy. Costs, energy penalty and unproven large Indian stores are the brakes. Using CCUS to justify endless new coal is a climate risk, not a climate policy.
Model answer
Introduction
- Some carbon dioxide is easy to avoid: a solar panel instead of a new coal plant for daytime power. Some is not: cement, some steel, fertiliser. Carbon capture, utilisation and storage is the family of technologies that grabs CO2 from a flue or the air, uses it or buries it. It is a climate tool. It is also an excuse if it is used to keep dirty plants alive forever.
Body
What CCUS is
Capture means chemical or physical separation of CO2 from a chimney or from ambient air (direct air capture, still costly). Utilisation means turning it into urea, chemicals, or pushing it into old oil wells to squeeze more oil (which can cancel the climate gain). Storage means a deep saline aquifer or a depleted field, monitored so the gas stays down. A full chain is what the letters promise.
Role in climate
The IPCC treats CCUS as needed for net zero in hard-to-abate sectors and for possible negative emissions if paired with bioenergy. It is not the cheapest way to clean a power sector that can use sun, wind and storage. For India, a honest role is cement and some industrial clusters, plus research. A dishonest role is a new coal fleet “with capture someday”.
- Limits: energy penalty (capture eats power), cost, few proven Indian storage sites at scale, and public trust. Utilisation in urea can be real; utilisation as a PR gas is not storage.
CCUS can shave residual emissions. It cannot replace a renewable build-out. That is its potential and its ceiling.
Flow diagram
flowchart LR F[Flue or air] --> C[Capture] C --> U[Use: urea chemicals] C --> S[Store in rock] S --> N[Net residual cut]
Conclusion
CCUS captures carbon, uses it or stores it underground. It matters for cement and other stubborn emissions. It is a poor substitute for clean power, and a dangerous delay if it is only a slogan on a coal plant.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifers is a major concern in India. What are the causes of seawater intrusion and the remedial measures to combat this hazard?
Next question in the 2025 paper (Q8). View answer →
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Is a tree the same as CCUS?
A tree stores carbon in biomass and soil. CCUS is an industrial chain. Both can count; they are not the same machine.
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Should India wait for cheap CCUS?
India should not wait to build solar. It should research storage geology for the residual industrial tonnes.
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