Global Underground CO₂ Storage Reached Record 43.6 Million Metric Tons in 2024

Global geological carbon dioxide storage reached a record 48.1 million US tons (43.6 million metric tons) in 2024, according to a new report by researchers at Imperial College London. The 2026 Annual Report from the London Register of Subsurface CO₂ Storage covered 70 projects across 17 countries on six continents, and stated that 464.8 million US tons of CO₂ have been stored underground since 1996.

The United States reported the most projects in 2024, with 23 projects collectively storing 22.3 million US tons of CO₂. Brazil's Petrobras Santos Basin Pre-Salt Oil Field was the world's largest individual project, reporting 15.7 million US tons, approximately one-third of the global total. China reported 1.9 million US tons in 2024, Australia contributed 1.9 million US tons, and New Zealand and Italy entered the register for the first time.

Figures from 2025 show 39.9 million US tons of reported storage from 29 projects across 12 countries, though the researchers added the data was incomplete. Brazil's Petrobras Santos Basin project reported 21.6 million US tons for 2025, compared to 15.7 million in 2024. The researchers emphasized that expanding underground CO₂ storage will be essential to meet international climate goals, and that to meet the 1.5°C target set out in the Paris Agreement, geological storage must scale to 1.1 billion US tons of CO₂ storage or more per year by 2050.