CCUS: Five things to watch in 2024

Investment in CCUS will accelerate this year as developers weigh short-term cost pressures and regulatory risk against the technology’s long-term potential

Investment in CCUS is expected to gain momentum in 2024 as governments and companies hard wire the technology into their decarbonisation strategies. CCUS’ namecheck in the final agreed text at COP28 confirmed its status as an important decarbonisation tool in the push for net zero by 2050. The new consensus is that CCUS, and less mature technologies such as direct air capture (DAC), will be needed to tackle emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, where electrification and green fuels are difficult to deploy. However, the sector still faces headwinds as it attempts to scale up. Capital and operating costs remain too high for some potential investors, while the legal frameworks and policy support