From Capture to Conversion

Recent efforts to mitigate atmospheric carbon levels have spurred advancements in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture, conversion, and utilization (CCCU) technologies, which some consider critical infrastructure for the global energy transition and others view as delaying more ambitious climate policy. This article reviews research on CCS and CCCU—described by some as carbon management technologies (CMT)—asking how scholars and decision-makers evaluate energy technologies for climate change mitigation and consider their potential consequences. Despite a range of critical studies on CCS, current research on CCCU technologies tends to focus on top-down implementation and techno-economic challenges. Further, while extensive work has been published on the technological, economic, and policy dimensions of both CCS and CCCU, scant attention has been paid to the justice concerns resulting from these technologies. This review article draws on approaches from critical social science research on energy transitions, particularly from work focused on the more advanced precursor technology, CCS. We then employ an energy justice lens to scrutinize power dynamics in CMT more broadly, with a specific focus on CCCU technology

Carbon capture and storage (timeline · Climate change · Climate justice · Economic Justice · Efficient energy use · Energy transition · Global warming · Greenhouse gas · Work (physics · Integrated Energy Systems Optimization · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance