The Asia CCUS Network (ACN) was established in 2021 to promote carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), as well as carbon recycling, in support of decarbonisation, economic recovery and growth. It aims to foster partnerships that facilitate knowledge-sharing, the exchange of experience and research collaboration across the East Asia Summit (EAS) region.

The ACN comprises ASEAN countries, Japan, the United States and Australia as advisory group members, alongside 300 supporting members. These include academic and research institutions (50), financial and banking institutions (16), private and public sector entities (208), and regional and international organisations and initiatives (26). The network has also published various studies on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and CCUS.

In 2025, the deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies for emissions reduction and carbon dioxide removal continued to demonstrate strong growth. A total of 70 CCUS facilities were operational, with 44 under construction, 610 in the planning stages and 734 in development, representing a 17% increase compared with 2024. According to the London Register of Subsurface CO₂ Storage: 2025 Annual, published by Imperial College London, more than 383 million tonnes of CO₂ were permanently stored underground worldwide between 1996 and 2024. This represents approximately 38% of the 1 Gt storage capacity required by 2030 under the International Energy Agency's (IEA) scenario for the expected contribution of CCUS to emissions reduction.

Carbon markets for CCUS are also beginning to gain momentum under both voluntary and compliance-based frameworks. In the private sector, Puro.earth has introduced a methodology for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). CDR certificates have been issued for BECCS projects in the European Union. Microsoft has also entered into offtake agreements with BECCS projects in Sweden and Denmark, accounting for more than 90% of BECCS credit purchase agreements. Among these, the BECCS project at the Värtan biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Stockholm represents the largest single contract to date.

In November 2025, Australia's Clean Energy Regulator (CER) issued 614,133 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to Santos for its Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project. This represents the largest single issuance of ACCUs since the scheme was established in 2012 and marks the first issuance of ACCUs under the CCS methodology.

In August 2025, Northern Lights, the world's first commercial cross-border CCS facility, issued its inaugural storage certificates. These certificates document the permanent transportation and storage of CO₂ captured at Heidelberg Materials' cement plant in Brevik, Norway, with the CO₂ now securely stored in the Aurora reservoir.

Within ASEAN, Indonesia has reached a final investment decision (FID) on the CCS-enhanced gas recovery (EGR) project at the Tangguh LNG facility. Malaysia has introduced new regulations governing CCUS and established a single-window agency to oversee CCUS initiatives nationwide. In addition, PETROS (Petroleum Sarawak Berhad) has secured partnerships with prospective investors for one of the three offshore carbon storage sites inaugurated in September 2024.

In December 2025, Thailand introduced a carbon tax and a national emissions trading system (ETS) under its Climate Change Act (2025). This legislation is expected to provide economic incentives for CCUS investment, with national deployment targets of 40 Mt per year by 2050 and 60 Mt per year by 2065.

Despite global progress and the growing potential for CO₂ storage, the development of CCUS clusters, hubs and cross-border initiatives in AZEC partner countries, ASEAN and East Asia continues to face significant challenges. These include fragmented and underdeveloped regulatory frameworks, inadequate financing and technological constraints.

Against this backdrop, the 6th Asia CCUS Forum will bring together key stakeholders from across the Asia CCUS Network for a one-day symposium. The forum aims to review recent developments in member countries, facilitate knowledge-sharing and collaboration, and formulate policy recommendations to address existing barriers and accelerate CCUS deployment across the region.