Asia’s reliance on carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a climate solution may backfire, locking the region into prolonged fossil fuel use.
This can increase CO2 emissions by 25 billion tonnes by 2050.
The study suggested that CCS projects are more about extending fossil fuel life than reducing emissions, threatening global climate goals.
This story has been updated
Asia’s rush to embrace carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a climate fix could dangerously backfire, locking the region into decades of fossil fuel use and adding nearly 25 billion tonnes of extra CO2 emissions by 2050, a new report by Climate Analytics, a global science and policy institute, warned.
The study found that most CCS projects across China, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and others are designed less to cut emissions and more to extend the life of coal, oil and gas. Together, these countries make up more than half the world's fossil fuel and greenhouse gas emissions.
"We find a strong possibility that Asian countries could increase their support for CCS through to 2050, risking a significant lock-in of unabated fossil fuels and stranded asset costs, let alone risks to the world achieving the Paris Agreement 1.5˚C warming limit," says report lead author, Climate Analytics analyst James Bowen.
The report argues that while some governments and industry players promote CCS as a mitigation tool, its deployment could entrench fossil fuel dependence rather than accelerate decarbonisation.
“Asia is at a crossroads,” said Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, warning that policy support for CCS in several countries appears designed to sustain fossil fuel industries rather than replace them.
"This is a very risky strategy, not only to the Paris Agreement, but to these economies themselves," he added.
Japan and South Korea are identified as major backers of CCS investment and regulatory frameworks, both domestically and overseas. Meanwhile, Australia and parts of Southeast Asia are positioning themselves as hubs for carbon dioxide storage and transport, a strategy that could prolong fossil fuel production and associated revenues.
China and India currently have less-defined CCS roadmaps, but the report suggests both could pivot more strongly toward the technology despite the falling costs of renewable energy alternatives.
The analysis highlights persistent challenges associated with CCS deployment, including high costs, technical limitations, and comparatively low capture rates in existing projects.
Electricity generation using fossil fuels combined with CCS is estimated to cost at least twice as much as renewable energy supported by storage technologies, the report states.
Researchers argue that in many sectors, including heavy industry, alternatives such as electrification and renewable energy integration may offer more reliable and cost-effective pathways to emissions reduction.
CCS also does not eliminate emissions, raising concerns about its compatibility with pathways aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C under the Paris Agreement.
According to the report, expanding CCS could create stranded assets as global markets increasingly shift toward cleaner technologies. This transition risk could expose economies to financial losses while simultaneously weakening climate mitigation efforts.
The analysis concludes that prioritising renewable energy, storage, and electrification would present a lower-risk and more economically viable pathway for Asian economies.
As the region’s energy demand continues to grow, policy choices made over the next decade are expected to play a decisive role in shaping both regional emissions trajectories and global climate outcomes.
The report’s findings come amid intensifying debate over the role of carbon capture technologies in achieving net-zero targets, particularly in rapidly industrialising economies where energy demand and emissions remain high.