Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage: Driving Industrial Decarbonisation to Achieve India's Net Zero 2070 Target
Distilled Policy Brief
- Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) serves as a critical pathway for decarbonising hard-to-abate industrial sectors—such as steel, cement, oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, and fertilizers—to support India's Net Zero by 2070 commitment.
🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points
Focus on the utilization applications of captured carbon dioxide (urea, green methanol, concrete, EOR) and valid geological storage formations (saline aquifers, depleted oil/gas reservoirs, basalt beds).
⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages
Evaluate the role of CCUS technology and the shared Hub and Cluster model in balancing heavy industrial growth with India's Net Zero 2070 decarbonization targets.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
With reference to Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) in India, consider the following statements: 1. It provides a key decarbonisation pathway for industrial processes that cannot be easily electrified due to requirements for high temperatures or carbon-based inputs. 2. NITI Aayog has identified CCUS as a critical mechanism for reducing emissions in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, and fertilizers. 3. CCUS is intended to entirely replace renewable energy deployment in achieving India's Net Zero emissions target by 2070. Which of the statements given above are correct?
- [A] 1 and 2 only
- [B] 2 and 3 only
- [C] 1 and 3 only
- [D] 1, 2 and 3
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
Statements 1 and 2 are correct: CCUS targets hard-to-abate sectors (like steel, cement, chemicals, and fertilizers) where direct electrification is difficult due to high-temperature or carbon-input needs, a strategy recognized by NITI Aayog. Statement 3 is incorrect because CCUS acts as a complement to renewable energy, rather than replacing it, to bridging the gap toward India's Net Zero by 2070 commitment.
🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (2021)
Consider the following statements regarding the "National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)": 1. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2. Central Pollution Control Board acts as the sole regulatory executive body.