Geoff Strong 1 and Richard van der Jagt 2
1 Climate scientist, Duncan BC; 2 Adjunct Prof. of Medicine, U of Ottawa ON
Federal tax dollars directed to Carbon Capture and Storage at Source (CCS)
are a direct subsidy to a very profitable but toxic fossil fuel industry.
The Canadian government has poured billions into this unproven technology,
ostensibly to counter present annual carbon emissions (~700 MT Canada, ~40
GT globally). This provides fossil fuels with a delay period for carbon
emissions to continue unabated through 2050. The 2023 federal budget
includes a further $83 billion in clean investment tax credits. Some of this
may go to further subsidize CCS, with the rest going towards clean
electricity, clean-tech manufacturing, and hydrogen projects.
Virtually all CCS facilities are owned and operated by the fossil fuel
industry, and reported results are difficult to verify. The fossil fuel
industry is focused on profit, so that most captured carbon dioxide (CO2) is
not stored below ground; rather, it is pumped below oil and gas wells to
improve their efficiency. The status of the pumped CO2 remains uncertain,
but it likely finds its way back into the atmosphere with little positive
impact on climate change.
There have been development plans to construct 135 CCS facilities worldwide,
with varying reports of only 16 to 27 facilities (we assume 25 here)
remaining operational, far under their plans. These high-profile CCS
cancellations and government funding programs, including Canada’s, have not
delivered on promises to clean up a dirty industry.
Just how effective are CCS facilities in capturing CO2?
Shell Oil’s Alberta-based Quest project for CCS was built at a cost of $1.3
billion, 70% of which was financed by Alberta and federal governments. Shell
reported in 2021 that Quest had captured and safely stored five million
tonnes of carbon dioxide in the previous five years, an average of one
million tonnes per year. If the existing ~25 global operational CCS projects
were equally successful, collectively they would capture 25 million tonnes
of CO2 per year. Given annual global emissions of near 40 GT (40,000,000,000
tonnes), that total capture amounts to a mere 0.06% of global emissions. To
raise that rate to capture just 10% of annual emissions (4 billion tonnes)
would require 4000 CCS facilities, assuming most were at major industry
emitters. They would build these at enormous cost, more than $5 trillion at
the Quest rate, so that carbon emissions might continue unabated. Clearly,
it is ludicrous to continue to support CCS technology. Moreover, these
expensive CCS facilities will become redundant and useless if humankind
successfully achieves the carbon neutrality necessary for our future
survival.
Government approval and support for CCS allows the fossil fuel industry to
continue to emit greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and
nitrous oxide. They fail to consider the fact that fossil fuels also release
poisonous non-greenhouse gases, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide,
and sulfur dioxide. Thus, fossil fuels degrade human health and that of
future generations while warming our climate to intolerable levels through
the release of greenhouse gases. CCS is a wasteful green-washing program.
The only practical choice now available to the world is a rapid replacement
of fossil fuel energy with renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, and
hydroelectric), while ending support for fossil fuels. Although initial
capital money and natural resources are required to set up microgrids of
renewables, nature provides renewable energy for free. It is inexhaustible
and is a proven and safe alternative to fossil fuels. The goal should be to
help restore a stable global climate, while providing a much healthier
environment, free from air, water, and land pollution.
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G.S. (Geoff) Strong, PhD
Atmospheric/Climate Scientist
Cowichan Bay, BC