Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) refers to a range of technologies that aim at capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions resulting from combustion of fossil fuels Fossil FuelRefers to energy materials extracted from the earth and used for burning. The three main fossil fuels are oil, fossil…Read on اقرأ المزيد (mostly from industrial operations such as refineries and power plants) instead of releasing them into the atmosphere.

The track record of CCS clearly shows that it is an ineffective, expensive, unsustainable false solution False SolutionsMeasures, often of technical nature, that have been proposed to deal with the climate crisis, often by fossil fuel corporations…Read on اقرأ المزيد meant to extend the life of the fossil fuel industry – who prefers to call it “a promising technology”.

History of Carbon Capture and Storage

CCS was first commercialized in the 1970s, but it was called “enhanced oil recovery” because oil corporations pumped the captured CO₂ into depleted oil fields to extract more fossil fuels. The process was rebranded as a way to becoming “carbon-neutral Carbon NeutralityAnthropogenic activities have led to global warming that is already approaching 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, even temporarily exceeding it…Read on اقرأ المزيد ” by big oil corporations in the early 2000s and heavily promoted as a solution to climate change Climate ChangeThe most commonly used term to refer to the changes in the climate regionally and globally. It is recommended to…Read on اقرأ المزيد .

Drawbacks of Carbon Capture and Storage

While CCS has been suggested as a mitigation MitigationThe efforts to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. Mitigation measures include reducing emissions on the demand side through energy-efficiency…Read on اقرأ المزيد measure, three issues make it an unlikely candidate for a significant contribution to effective climate action:

1. Environmental hazard:

Most CO₂ captured globally is still used in enhanced oil recovery to extract more fossil fuels, defeating the purpose of any supposed “emissions reductions” motivation. In addition, plants with CCS require 15-25% more energy than conventional plants, which means that they generate more emissions. They also emit more sulfur dioxide and other pollutants.

For most uses, it would be much cheaper to use renewable energy technologies.

2. Waste of funds:

Businesses are not investing their own money in CCS but tend to ask for subsidies because they know the technology is not promising enough. Despite billions of tax exemptions and public funds poured into CCS, most large-scale CCS projects have been canceled or put on hold due to financial failure (a single plant in the US wasted $7.5 billion on CCS before abandoning it completely).

3. Limited scale:

As of 2023, and despite decades of hype, there are only around 40 CCS facilities in operation, with a total annual capacity of 45 million tons CO2. This figure is approximately 0.00125% of annual global CO₂ emissions, which exceeded 36.1 billion tons in 2022 alone.

For these reasons, CCS has been described as “net zero fraud” and a “scam”.