Grand hopes exist that carbon capture and storage can have a major decarbonization role at global, regional and sectoral scales. Those hopes rest on the narrative that an abundance of geological storage opportunity is available to meet all needs. In this Perspective, we present the contrasting view that deep uncertainty over the sustainable injection rate at any given location will constrain the pace and scale of carbon capture and storage deployment. Although such constraints will probably have implications in most world regions, they may be particularly relevant in major developing Asian economies. To minimize the risk that these constraints pose to the decarbonization imperative, we discuss steps that are urgently needed to evaluate, plan for and reduce the uncertainty over CO₂ storage prospects.

巨大的希望是碳捕获和储存可以在全球、区域和部门范围内发挥重要的脱碳作用。这些希望基于这样一种说法，即有大量的地质储存机会可以满足所有需求。在这个视角中，我们提出了相反的观点，即任何给定位置的可持续注入率的深度不确定性将限制碳捕获和封存部署的速度和规模。尽管此类限制可能会对世界大多数地区产生影响，但它们可能对主要的亚洲发展中经济体尤其重要。为了最大限度地降低这些限制因素对脱碳势在必行的风险，我们讨论了评估、规划和减少 CO ₂封存前景的不确定性所急需的步骤。