Carbon Management

What is Carbon Management?

The term ‘Carbon Management’ encompasses activities that capture, utilize or store CO₂, or that help connect those activities, including:

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) emissions mitigation technologies; and
Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) approaches like Direct Air Capture to Carbon Storage (DACCS), Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS), and enhanced mineralization

Growing a competitive Carbon Management industry in Canada offers opportunities to decarbonize key sectors and develop new ones in support of a prosperous, net zero economy of the future.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and International Energy Agency (IEA), Carbon Management is crucial in the fight against climate change and in reaching net-zero emissions. It can:

Capture CO₂ emissions from industrial processes and combustion of biomass or fossil fuels;
Be used to produce low-carbon products and fuels (e.g., hydrogen, fertilizer, cement, iron and steel);
Be used to support tech-based CDR, nature-based approaches, or combined (i.e., hybrid) approaches.

Carbon Management technologies and approaches are diverse and vary in maturity; some applications have been deployed at commercial scales for decades, while others require more research and development. Accelerating innovation and adoption is essential if Carbon Management is to contribute at the magnitude needed to achieve Canada’s climate targets.

Building a Carbon Management Strategy for Canada

Carbon Management plays a critical role in Canada’s economic and environmental future as we strive to meet our 2030 climate target and net-zero by 2050 objective. That is why, through engagement with technical experts, stakeholders and other interested Canadians, we are developing a Carbon Management Strategy that will ensure Canada is well positioned to enable meaningful climate action, ensure a just transition that provides sustainable jobs to people and communities, and support a more circular economy.

Supporting Carbon Management Technology

The Government of Canada is accelerating the development of carbon management technologies through targeted funding, investment tax credits, and federal research initiatives.

In addition to ongoing funding through the Energy Innovation Program, Budget 2021 committed $319 million over seven years, into research, development, and demonstrations to advance the commercial viability of CCUS technologies. These funds will bring together businesses, academia, non-profits, industry, and governments on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050.

Further, the CCUS Investment Tax Credit (ITC) provides a tax credit to Canadian corporations that incur eligible expenditures for qualified CCUS projects, from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2040. The CCUS ITC is available to a broad range of CCUS applications and projects across different industrial sectors. Along with the other Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits (ITCs), the CCUS ITC will play an essential role in attracting investment, supporting Canadian innovation, creating jobs and driving Canada’s economy toward net-zero by 2050.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

The CCUS ITC is a refundable tax credit that applies to eligible expenditures incurred for a qualified CCUS project, from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2040.