This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the status, challenges, and prospects of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in rural areas of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study synthesises theoretical frameworks applicable to the sustainability of carbon capture and storage projects in rural communities. It describes CCS initiatives, highlighting their types, sectors, and aims. Lastly, it reviews the benefits, challenges, prospects for growth, and sustainability of CCS projects in rural contexts. The reviewed frameworks emphasised the importance of adopting a systems approach that integrates community capital assets, robust community engagement, tailored technology adoption, adaptive and collaborative governance, robust social justice considerations, and value-centric design. The identified project in rural Eastern Cape includes rangeland management, nature reserves, forests and forestry, agriculture and agroforestry, coastal regions, and mountain areas. The diversity of projects highlights not only the range of entrepreneurship and economic opportunities across rural areas but also the prospect to transform degraded landscapes into viable carbon sinks while promoting economic and social benefits. Key socio-economic implications and insights into best practices for integrating CCS projects within rural development and alignment of rural communities’ priorities with global decarbonisation initiatives are discussed.