Carbon emissions have risen dramatically over the past several decades, accelerating climate change and making extreme weather events more intense and frequent. Climate data tells us it’s critical to deploy as many clean energy sources and technologies as possible this decade to avoid the worst of climate change. That’s why President Biden has set goals to cut America’s carbon emissions in half by 2030 and reach 100% clean electricity by 2035. But as we make this transition, we know there are some sectors, like industry – where products that we rely on every day like cement and steel, can’t shift entirely to carbon-free energy sources just yet.

That’s where Carbon Capture and Storage—or CCS—comes in.  

These technologies allow us to separate carbon dioxide from the emissions produced by these sectors, before they are even released into the atmosphere.  

At the Department of Energy, our Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has been at the forefront of CCS research and development for decades, working with partners in industry and academia to solve the challenges posed by these hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy. 

In our latest video, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm breaks down how CCS works and what it can do to help us beat the climate crisis. Check it out below and then head over to our Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and our National Energy Technology Laboratory to learn more about these and other carbon-reducing solutions.