Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is expected to become one of the main technological instruments for mid-term reduction of CO2 emissions into the earth's atmosphere. Besides the reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, the implementation of CCS would have various negative consequences, which are - if at all - only poorly covered in the current socio-political discussion._x000D_
Taking into account all aspects of CCS, the outcome of a comprehensive and conclusive assessment of CCS against the background of the sustainable development concept is uncertain._x000D_
When assessing the overall impact of CCS in a holistic approach, a variety of aspects with effects on sustainable development are affected. Besides economic issues, various other effects of implementing CCS should be taken into consideration. These include for example additional costs for CCS facilities and processes and a decrease in powerplant efficiency due to high energy requirements of capture processes, and various ecological and societal aspects, such as higher demand for combustible, resulting in faster depletion of reserves and higher land and water use and the provision of jobs along CCS technology chain._x000D_
This paper presents an approach for a structured sustainability assessment of CCS based on the multi attribute decision-making (MADM) method analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The functioning of the presented methodology is exemplified at the case study of a German coal fired powerplant._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Martens, P N, Katz, T, Rattmann, L and Pateiro-Fernndez, J B, 2009._x000D_
Sustainability aspects of carbon capture and storage (CCS) - an approach to a holistic CCS assessment, in Proceedings SDIMI 2009 - Sustainable Development Indicators in the Minerals Industry, pp 15-22 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).