Ottawa is expected to unveil its promised carbon capture investment tax credit in next week’s federal budget. Though details have not yet been made available, the federal government’s emissions reduction plan released Tuesday stated that advancing carbon capture and storage projects features in the mix of “every credible path” to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, including scenarios laid out by the United Nations and the International Energy Agency.
“We shouldn’t see this as a silver bullet.
The technology is expensive and has been slow to scale up, in spite of having been around for decades.
“There is a significant role for carbon capture in decarbonizing the oil and gas industry,” said Simon Dyer, the Pembina Institute’s deputy executive director.
Sara Hastings-Simon, an energy and climate policy expert at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, said that carbon capture and storage technology could potentially be an “interim” solution that helps to serve as a bridge during the clean energy transition.