Global overview of CO₂ storage potential

Since the 2005 IPCC Special Report on CO₂ Capture and Storage, which indicated a global storage potential in geological formations of at least 2000 GtCO₂, various methodologies for estimating storage capacities have been proposed. Many countries have estimated their CO₂ storage potential, based on volumetric calculations, and about ten of them have developed atlases presenting their CO₂ storage potential. For a number of potential storage sites, more precise estimates of storage capacity have been made, based on dynamic simulations of CO₂ injection into the storage reservoir. Despite the high uncertainties related to the limited data available on the deep subsurface and the natural heterogeneity of the geological formations, the estimated global storage capacities are much higher than the storage needs to combat climate change. (authors)