Spring 2025

After a literature review of six sectors (pulp and paper, ammonia, cement, steel, aluminum, and petrochemicals), the team narrowed its focus to pulp and paper at the request of the Clean Air Task Force. It explains that since much of their CO₂ comes from chemical processes as opposed to energy use, sectors like cement and ammonia are hard to abate. It then profiles five major pulp and paper companies: Smurfit Westrock, International Paper, Verso, Packaging Corporation of America and Georgia-Pacific. It compares their scale, finances, emissions by scope, and reduction targets, which primarily aim for 20-35% cuts by 2030.

The team ultimately concluded that CCUS works better in some industries than others, mostly due to infrastructure and cost. Pulp and paper companies rarely use it, rather focusing on energy efficiency. Because Scope 3 emissions are largely outside a company’s control, the team recommends facility-level CCUS to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions and help companies meet their targets. The team says that limited contact with the Clean Air Task Force was its main challenge, better financial modeling of CCUS as an area of improvement, and a deeper analysis of pulp and paper and GIS mapping of major U.S. emission sources as its next steps.