Indonesia, Singapore sign framework pledge on carbon storage

“Cross-border carbon capture and storage is an emerging solution in Asia, and supports Singapore’s transition towards a low-carbon future,” Singapore said. Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) Deputy Secretary Keith Tan in a joint statement.

“With this LOI, Singapore and Indonesia can become pioneers in catalyzing the deployment of cross-border CCS projects in Southeast Asia,” he said.

CCS is the process of capturing, transporting, and storing CO2 produced as a byproduct from other activities such as power generation.

So the CO2 that is captured will not be released into the atmosphere, paving the way to decarbonize emissions from hard-to-reduce sectors such as energy and chemicals and power.

According to the International Energy Agency, global carbon capture utilization and storage facilities will need to increase their capacity to about 1 gigaton per year (Gtpa) by 2030 and 6 Gtpa by 2050 to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

An estimated 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide captured and stored worldwide in 2022.

Critics say CCS is an expensive and unproven technology, but Indonesia is keen to become a hub for CO2 storage in the region.

Its government says the archipelago has more than 400 gigatons of storage potential in the form of depleted oil and gas reserves and saline aquifers.

It also said that, there are 15 CCS and carbon capture, storage and utilization projects in various stages of preparation in the country with a combined investment of about US$8 billion.

As part of its Sustainable Jurong Island plans announced in November 2021, Singapore aims to achieve 2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of carbon capture by 2030 and 6 MTPA by 2050.

There are currently no cross-border CCS projects in Asia, although countries such as South Korea and Japan have announced plans to implement cross-border CCS projects.