1. Introduction
Carbon dioxide (CO
2) levels in the environment have sharply increased due to the rapid increase in the energy and industrial sectors, especially when they burn fossil fuels
[1]. Therefore, there are a lot of worries about how to stop global warming and establish climate mitigation strategies by 2050 for a low-carbon and sustainable future
[1]. For climate change to be less severe, greenhouse gas pollution, especially carbon dioxide, must be cut down. CCUS technology is one of the methods that scientists are working on to reduce CO
2 pollution from factories and power plants and safely store or use the captured carbon
[2][3][4]. In addition, as the industrial output is expected to grow and decarbonization is a pressing social and political need, CCUS is expected to play a key role in supporting economic growth and decarbonization at the same time
[4]. As the international community works harder to fight climate change and lower greenhouse gas emissions, CCUS has become a key tool for meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. In a world where CO
2 levels are rising, the Chinese government is helping to adapt technology and use CCUS in the real world, and great progress is being made
[5]. With the increase in CCUS, the SC activities related to CCUS have gained much attention
[6]. Nevertheless, there are a few issues with establishing a robust and efficient CCUS SC system
[7].
CCUS is a technology that captures carbon dioxide emissions from industrial and power generation processes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts
[8][9]. CCUS is key to the fight against climate change because it includes technologies that absorb CO
2 emissions from high-emission sources, move the captured CO
2, and either use it again or store it forever
[10]. With the main goal of reducing CO
2 emissions and battling environmental impacts, CCUS is a comprehensive process for capturing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial activities, followed by their transportation to a storage location, where they are either sequestered underground or used in a variety of applications like enhanced oil recovery, chemical production, and building materials
[4]. The immediate implementation and current usage of CCUS in a few industries highlight its current viability, but to successfully achieve net zero by the middle of this century, significant investments and policy backing are indispensable, emphasizing the urgent need to accelerate CCUS technology deployment
[10]. Cutting CO
2 emissions is the most important thing that can be undertaken to fight climate change, and renewable energy has a lot of promise. However, the current energy world is complicated, and the fact that countries and businesses are setting more and more ambitious net-zero emissions goals shows how hard it is to rely only on renewable energy. To reach the 1.5 °C goal, energy efficiency and the use of low-carbon alternative energy sources must be five times higher in 2050 than they were in 2015
[11]. CCUS helps to protect the environment by capturing and storing CO
2 emissions. It is important to remember that CCUS is not a replacement for renewable energy. Instead, it is a technology that works with renewables to help reduce emissions in places where renewables alone may not be enough
[12].
The CCUS SC involves collecting CO
2 from factories and power plants, moving it, storing it underground, or using it for other purposes
[13]. The CCUS SC is intricate and comprises numerous components, including carbon capture, compression, transport, storage, and utilization
[3]. Each of these components necessitates specialized knowledge and apparatuses, and collaboration between various stakeholders is essential for the success of CCUS solutions. Capturing CO
2 from the source of emissions is the first step in the CCUS SC. There are different ways to capture CO
2: post-combustion capture, precombustion capture, and oxyfuel combustion
[14]. After being captured, the CO
2 needs to be compressed under more pressure in order to be moved and stored
[15]. The compressed CO
2 is then moved from where it was captured to where it will be used or stored. A pipeline, ship, or vehicle can all be used to achieve this. In the next step of the CCUS SC, storage, the compressed CO
2 is placed underground in rock formations, salt formations, or deep coal fissures
[16][17].
To use CCUS well and reach carbon neutrality, the risks related to the CCUS SC need to be understood to find ways to lower them
[4][18]. There needs to be a full risk study of CCUS projects to find out what the risks are. Finding, evaluating, and lowering the risks that might come with CCUS technologies are all parts of CCUS RM. This needs to be carried out regularly and with regular risk assessments
[10]. Successful CCUS RM requires a full understanding of the complexity involved and the use of methods from different fields to measure the possible effects. The CCUS SC includes capturing carbon dioxide emissions from different sources, like power plants or industrial facilities, and then transporting them to a storage site for use or sequestration. These steps, which include capture, compression, transportation, and storage, are very important for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable energy from renewable sources
[19]. A CCUS SC risk is a possible threat or uncertainty that could affect the flow of the compressed CO
2, transportation system, health and safety, tools, and services that are needed for CCUS technologies. Therefore, CCUS technology cannot be used or put into place without effective SC RM. Environmental and safety risks are part of the CCUS SC risk throughout the entire carbon capture, use, and storage process, from CO
2 emission sources to capture, transportation, and storage/use technology modules
[20]. In the CCUS SC process, if compressed CO
2 cannot reach the place where it will be stored or used because of a problem with transportation or technology, itis likely that CO
2 will be released into the environment until the problem is fixed. With this interruption in the CCUS SC, the process of capturing CO
2 would slow down because the plant would not have enough space to store it. If risks are not taken care of ahead of time, the effects of CCUS SC will be even worse when shipping is carried out only through a pipeline as continuous flow. Thus, the CCUS SC RM has to find, evaluate, and eliminate possible environmental, safety, and operating risks throughout the whole process.
2. Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Risks
As a first step, 46 risks were identified associated with different SC sectors, categorizing them into manufacturing/production SC (MFSC/PSC), retail SC (RSC), energy/process SC (ESC/PRSC), agricultural SC (ASC), and healthcare SC (HCSC). Each sector identifies and discusses various risks, including natural disasters, government regulations, globalization, political instability, terrorism, stockouts, financial issues, production variability, transportation delays, product quality, safety and human risks, and many others. One SC risk can be common in multiple SC sectors.
In the context of CCUS, this risk identification has enormous importance for safety measures and risk management practices to address potential accidents, leaks, or failures at different stages of CCUS operations, which could lead to adverse environmental impacts, human health risks, and economic liabilities. Moreover, a risk cluster was developed, showing risks in five different SC sectors and visualizing them with a network analysis in Gephi. In general, the findings of the review indicate that SCs in various industries encounter several common risks, and that adapting RM practices to the specific characteristics of the CCUS SC is essential for ensuring its safe and efficient operation.
Creating a conceptual framework for CCUS SC RM is one of the main goals. CCUS technology has received much attention because of the ongoing fight against climate change and the urgent need to cut carbon emissions. Regarding CCUS operations, the SC is one of the most important parts. It involves a lot of different people, innovative technologies, and big investments. Thus, the success of CCUS projects depends on more than just new technology. It also depends on how well SC management works. It is very important to stress this because the study found 28 different risks in CCUS SC, and each one directly affects the project’s success as a whole. If these risks are not managed well, they will affect the environment, people’s health and safety, finances, and the surrounding community. As a result, it is very important to develop a conceptual framework that connects these CCUS SC risks to the functions of the CCUS SC and offers complete risk management strategies. This kind of framework is likely to effectively lower these risks, increasing the success rate of CCUS projects. In turn, this helps people make smart decisions, ensures rules are followed, and boosts trust in the project among stakeholders. Therefore, a CF is proposed in the next section.
5. Conceptual Framework (CF) of CCUS SC Risk Management
A conceptual framework is a set of ideas that shows the main ideas, variables, and how they relate to each other in a certain research area
[21]. It helps organize and make sense of what is already known and points the way for future research. Therefore, researchers in many fields need a conceptual framework because it helps develop and test hypotheses, figure out what the results mean, and share the findings with others
[22]. At the same time, it helps to communicate clearly, promotes systematic decision making, and provides a structured approach to complex problem-solving. Here focuses on CCUS SC risk identification. However, the question arises: What are the functions of CCUS SC, and what risks are involved in each function? CCUS SC functions are the activities and operational processes involved in carbon capture, utilization, and storage. The functions related to the CCUS SC can be divided into CO
2 source, capture and compression, transportation, and utilization/storage.
Developing a conceptual framework for managing risks in the CCUS SC has many important benefits for placing CCUS initiatives into action and running them day-to-day. This well-organized framework acts as a bridge, linking possible risks to the strategies meant to address them in a planned way. Taking this proactive stance gives CCUS stakeholders the power to make plans and take precautions that will lessen the negative effects of these risks on CCUS SC activities to avoid CCUS SC disruption. Because CCUS projects often need big financial investments, this framework is essential for making sure that resources are used wisely. It helps people decide where to place their resources, so they can focus on the biggest risks and keep risk management efficient and low-cost. This CF is also a useful tool for helping everyone involved in CCUS make decisions. It gives a structured way to think about how to design CCUS SC, how to use technology, and how to handle risks. In this way, it improves the process of making decisions. The success of CCUS projects is also often closely watched by investors, policymakers, and the public, as everyone has a big stake in how they turn out. Instilling more confidence and support for CCUS initiatives and having a CF makes it clear that responsible and risk-aware management practices are important to prevent CCUS SC disruption.
The uniqueness of this CF is to connect the functions of CCUS SC with its risk. Moreover, it connects with the risk management strategies to develop a complete CCUS SC RM system. This CF consists of three interconnected layers to provide a complete CCUS SC RM system. Layer 1 represents the CCUS SC functions, layer 2 represents risks, and layer three is for RM strategies. To understand the CF, one can start with layer 1, then move on to layer 2, and finally to layer 3. Therefore, the CF helps in effective communication with researchers. The risks involved in layer 2 can be divided into three groups. Risk group 1 represents the common risks impacting all CCUS SC functions. Risk group 2 indicates the risks that belong to more than one CCUS SC function. Finally, risk group 3 indicates the risks that belong to only one CCUS SC function. Similarly, layer 3 has three risk management strategies linked to each risk group.
A conceptual framework is useful for more than just making research and decision making easier. It is an extremely useful tool for people working in the CCUS field, like practitioners and policymakers. Using this conceptual framework as guidance, decision-makers can establish and follow an outline for creating and implementing effective risk-management strategies. Because it is naturally comprehensive, it gives everyone involved the tools they need to find potential weak spots ahead of time. This makes CCUS supply chains more resilient overall. What really makes this framework stand out is how well it can connect the constantly changing fields of risk management, climate change, and supply chains. It is a flexible and forward-thinking approach that fits perfectly with how quickly it is necessary to deal with climate change risks in global SC.
This new way of looking at problems not only moves the CCUS sector forward but also fits in well with larger goals for sustainability and climate change mitigation. When it comes to talking about adaptability, this framework’s strength is that it gives stakeholders the freedom to make risk management plans that suit the unique circumstances of the CCUS supply chain. It considers the unique problems and chances that might come up in a world where climate change is always developing and the supply chain is always becoming more complicated. Another thing that makes the framework unique is that it uses systems thinking. This method considers how climate change, SC, and risk management affect each other in complex ways. The framework helps a more complete study of climate change risks and how they affect global SC by looking at things from a big-picture point of view. By looking at things from different fields, the framework helps make CCUS operations more resilient and long-lasting, making them an even more valuable tool in the fight against climate change worldwide.