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General Studies 2025 GS Paper III 10 marks 150 words Compulsory What

GS Paper III — Q7

What is Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) ? What is the potential role of CCUS in tackling climate change ? (Answer…

What is Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) ? What is the potential role of CCUS in tackling climate change ? (Answer in 150 words) 10 marks

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

कार्बन अवशोषण (कैप्चर), उपयोग तथा भंडारण (सी सी यू एस) से क्या आशय है ? जलवायु परिवर्तन से निपटने में सी सी यू एस की संभावित भूमिका क्या है ? (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में दीजिए)

Q7 of the 2025 UPSC Mains General Studies GS Paper III, as printed
The question as printed in the 2025 General Studies paper
Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2025 General Studies questions

Model answer

Written by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is an emissions-reduction pathway involving the capture of CO₂ from industrial sources (via pre-combustion, post-combustion, or oxy-fuel methods), its transport via pipelines or shipping, and either its permanent geological storage (or mineralization) or productive utilization. Unlike conventional CCS, which solely traps CO₂ underground, CCUS recycles captured carbon into economic value streams such as synthetic fuels, building materials, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

Role in Tackling Climate Change

  • Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors: It provides a critical mitigation solution for heavy industries like cement, steel, and thermal power, where process emissions cannot be eliminated through electrification alone.
  • Negative Emissions: Coupled with Direct Air Capture (DAC) or Bioenergy (BECCS), CCUS actively removes legacy CO₂ from the atmosphere to achieve net-negative targets.
  • Anchor for India’s Net-Zero 2070 Goal: For India's coal-reliant grid, CCUS bridges energy security with decarbonization, demonstrated by NTPC’s carbon-capture-to-methanol pilot at Vindhyachal.

Despite its potential, CCUS faces hurdles of high capital costs, parasitic energy penalties, and long-term storage integrity risks. Overcoming these requires dedicated policy incentives, viable carbon pricing, and scaled R&D to establish CCUS as an indispensable pillar of global climate action.

What "What" is asking you to do

What is an interrogative rather than a command word. It opens a multi-part stem — what the thing is, then its causes, risks or remedies — and the definitional clause is the gate rather than the answer, with the marks spread across the clauses that follow it.

Structure that answers it

What it is, in two or three lines → the second clause of the stem, at length → the third clause, at length → a closing line only if room remains

Where marks are lost

Spending half the answer establishing the object and leaving the later clauses, which carry most of the marks, thinly answered.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Framework: GS3 Environment: threat, causes, impact, mitigation. explain: definition/context > points in order > small example > short close Full marks: Clear definition, detailed process explanation, specific role in climate change, and implementable measures.

Key points expected

  • Define Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)
  • Explain the capture, utilization, and storage processes
  • State the role of CCUS in tackling climate change
  • Mention specific applications or sectors (e.g., power, cement)

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

  1. The answer Define CCUS and explain its role in climate change mitigation.  · 150 words

    explain— definition/context → points in order → small example → short close

    Must cover

    • Define Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)
    • Explain the capture, utilization, and storage processes
    • State the role of CCUS in tackling climate change
    • Mention specific applications or sectors (e.g., power, cement)

    Loses marks

    • Vague definition without distinguishing capture, utilization, storage
    • Generic climate change mitigation without specific CCUS role
    • Aspirational solutions without implementable measures

    Earns more

    • Mention specific storage methods (e.g., geological, ocean)
    • Reference specific utilization products (e.g., fuels, chemicals)
    • Discuss the scale of emissions reduction potential
    • Mention challenges or limitations of CCUS

    Extra mark

    • Cite a specific CCUS project or scheme
    • Provide a simple flowchart of the CCUS process

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