Methods are provided for the selective removal of CO.sub.2 from a multicomponent gaseous stream to provide a CO.sub.2 depleted gaseous stream. In practicing the subject methods, an initial multicomponent gaseous stream is contacted with an aqueous fluid under conditions of selective CO.sub.2 clathrate formation to produce a CO.sub.2 clathrate slurry and CO.sub.2 depleted gaseous stream. A feature of the subject methods is that the CO.sub.2 clathrate slurry is then compressed to high pressure to produce a high-pressure CO.sub.2 product. Also provided are systems that find use in practicing the subject methods. The subject methods and systems find use in a variety of applications where it is desired to selectively remove CO.sub.2 from a multicomponent gaseous stream.