The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has become the latest member to join the Global CCS Institute, an international think tank focused on scaling-up carbon capture and storage technology (CCS).
Represented by the Ministry of Energy, the Kingdom through its membership reaffirms its commitment to tackling the climate challenge through collaboration, innovation and the adoption of proven technologies, a report said.
The Ministry, which is leading the government’s carbon capture and storage efforts, will work closely with the Institute on CCS capacity building.
With a target to reach net-zero by 2060, Saudi Arabia has a diverse portfolio aimed at reducing carbon emissions, including through the use of CCS.
“CCS is a needed technology that will drive a low-emission transition across hard to abate industries,” said Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy.
“In 2022, Saudi Arabia announced plans to develop one of the largest CCS hubs in the world, where 44 million tonnes of CO2 will be mitigated annually through CCS efforts in the Jubail by 2035. Getting ambitious climate projects off the ground will require partnerships and region-specific expertise and knowledge, and being a member of the Global CCS Institute will enhance that further,” he added.
The Global CCS Institute said it is keen to work with the Saudi Arabian government to provide expertise to drive the accelerated deployment of CCS technology.
“Saudi Arabia is putting plans in place to develop large-scale projects that will have the capacity to capture and store millions of tonnes of CO2 from industry, subsequently being poised to be a CCS leader in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region,” Jarad Daniels, the CEO of the Global CCS Institute, said.
"As the country shifts from CCS ambition to CCS action, we look forward to being an active part of that journey,” he added.
The Global CCS Institute’s 200 strong membership spans 33 countries, including 13 government members.
Although there are over 250 CCS facilities in various stages globally, that number will need to increase by 100-fold for international climate targets to be reached by mid-century. Saudi Arabia’s geological storage capacity makes the country a strong candidate for CCS deployment and industrial decarbonization efforts.
