Panel proposes capital grants for carbon capture, storage projects

The government should provide capital grants to early carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects, include CCUS in the national climate action plan and help develop the carbon market with a long-term objective to develop India as a carbon storage hub, an official panel has recommended in its draft report.
The panel, comprising petroleum ministry officials, industry executives and academics has submitted a draft titled '2030 Roadmap for CCUS for Upstream Exploration & Production Companies' and is seeking comments from stakeholders.

"Given that the world is still in the early stages of the CCUS revolution, India has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to emerge as a global CCUS innovation hub," the draft said. "Key enablers to achieving this will include incentives and R&D subsidies for the private sector to help position India as a global tech and entrepreneurial hub."

The panel has also proposed directing oil and gas producers to set net-zero targets with clear roadmaps. The draft recommends providing funds to support capital and operating costs for 5-10 demonstration projects while suggesting that a rapid scale-up will require a shift to market-based measures.

It has also recommended creating a fund by pooling resources from both public and private sectors to support CCUS projects.