Carbon capture is turning the oil and gas industry into a critical player for mitigating climate change – while its products continue to heat up the planet.
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber, centre, attends a plenary session at the COP28 UN Climate Summit, Dec. 8, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Al-Jaber is an oil executive whose statements on fossil-fuel phase outs have proved controversial.
(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Does the science support the need for a fossil fuel phase out to reach 1.5 C? The answer depends on whether we believe that carbon capture and removal technologies can be deployed safely at scale.
Australia wants to allow export of CO₂ for the purpose of “sequestration”, or storage under the sea. Fossil fuel companies, or research organisations, would need to first apply for an export permit.
Power plants contribute a quarter of the United States’ climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
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Fossil fuel power plants can avoid most emissions by capturing carbon dioxide and pumping it underground. But to be a climate solution, that carbon has to stay stored for thousands of years.
Natural gas power plants could find a lifeline in carbon capture and storage.
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While carbon dioxide removal from the air is not a replacement for emissions reductions, it can supplement these efforts. Experts are continually researching the best ways to do this.
The U.S. had seven operating offshore wind turbines with 42 megawatts of capacity in 2021. The Biden administration’s goal is 30,000 megawatts by 2030.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Wind turbines often can produce more power than is needed for electricity onshore. That extra energy could be put to work capturing and storing carbon.
Some industries, including steel and cement, emit carbon dioxide as part of the manufacturing process, and could benefit from carbon capture technologies.
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Carbon capture technologies have been labelled as a distraction. But as we enter the all-hands-on-deck phase of tackling climate change, they must not be ignored.
The UK government has committed to phase out coal power completely by 2024.
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If the UK is to achieve net zero by 2050, it needs to get moving on making a successful green transition across fuel, transport and housing.
Most carbon dioxide captured in the U.S. today is used to extract more oil.
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COVID-19 pandemic has seen the Morrison government abandon long-held dogma on debt and deficits. But on climate and energy, it’s singing from the same old songbook.
The Drax biomass plant in Yorkshire is the first in the world to pioneer carbon capture and some specialists see it as it has a bright future. But hold the rosy headlines.
Testing new ways to use this technology is underway in Japan.
Reuters/Aaron Sheldrick