Carbon capture: Creating jobs, cutting emissions
As decarbonization solutions scale up around the world, carbon capture and storage (CCS) offers an opportunity to create a vast network of new jobs, spark billions in economic development and generate infrastructure investments around large industrial hubs.
In some ways, the potential for CCS is similar to how the Internet created an ecosystem of new businesses, jobs and investments – a ripple effect that continues today.
In the near term, the International Energy Agency’s Sustainable Development Scenario estimates the need for 70 to 100 new CCS facilities to be built per year by 2050, requiring between $655 billion and $1.28 trillion in capital spending. That also means up to 100,000 construction jobs and up to 40,000 positions to operate that equipment.
That’s a potential blueprint for significant economic growth in places like the greater Houston area, where 11 companies announced in September 2021 their support for advancing CCS in the city. That effort is estimated to require more than $100 billion in private and public investments and generate thousands of new jobs.
Once completed, the initiatives in Houston and other areas could have a dramatic impact on lowering CO2 emissions from industrial sources.
Carbon capture and storage will also play a crucial role in the wide-scale production of “blue hydrogen,” a low-emission fuel derived from natural gas. With CCS, the emissions involved in the production of hydrogen can be stripped out and safely stored deep underground. Further, CCS enables a rapid rollout and scaling of blue hydrogen that could meet the growing demand from the transportation and industrial sectors.
Learn more about the transformational potential carbon capture and storage has as a source for new solutions that go beyond the environmental benefits.
A transformational opportunity
Investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) can provide several economic benefits, such as creating and sustaining high-value jobs; supporting economic growth through new, lower-carbon industries and innovation; and potentially enabling infrastructure reuse. Here's a closer look at the benefits from a global and national view, as well as what it would mean for a city like Houston.
The Need for CCS
Worldwide, 70-100 CCS facilities need to be built per year by 2050, requiring capital between $655 billion and $1.28 trillion.
New Jobs
Building those facilities around the world could create up to 100,000 construction jobs and require 30,000 to 40,000 people to operate them.
Houston Large-Scale CCS Initiative
Estimated investment of $100 billion (private and public).
Houston Magnet for Employment
A Houston CCS hub could create tens of thousands of jobs before 2035.
$4 Billion
In 2020, the industry and U.S. government committed $4 billion for CCS facilities.