9. Financial Barriers and Strategies for Promoting Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies

It is no exaggeration to state that global warming is the most serious global environmental problem that we face in the future. In order to minimize the negative impacts of global warming, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere are being made in various countries around the world. Indeed, the goal of halving carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 2050 is typical and the International Energy Agency (IEA) has drafted and announced the roadmap as a BLUE Map scenario in order that it may be realized. Taking this objective into account, the best solution would be to substitute fossil fuels with renewable energy and nuclear energy. However, it is difficult to quickly transition from the widespread utilization of fossil fuels as an energy source. Therefore, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly deemed an important strategy that collects the CO₂ generated and stores it in the ground. In the BLUE Map scenario, a 19% CO₂ reduction target is expected to be achieved by CCS technologies (CCSTs), thus CCS is today considered an indispensable technology for future CO₂ reduction, in addition to clean coal technologies (CCTs). However, its development is difficult, owing in large part to its high cost as well as the diverse negative impacts of the deployment of CCSTs. In order to enhance CCSTs as a promising solution toward sustainable development, it is essential to improve institutional and financial support systems at various stages, such as design and construction, to overcome the financial barriers for CCST projects.