Thursday, March 23, 2023
Change Oracle Logo
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
Change Oracle Logo
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology Carbon Capture

The Role of the Fossil Fuel Industry in Carbon Capture

by Richard Matthews
May 24, 2021
in Carbon Capture
0

The fossil fuel industry has played a pioneering role in advancing carbon capture research. This includes carbon capture and utilization (CCU) for fuel, and enhanced oil recovery or (EOR) that uses captured carbon to extract more oil. Neither CCU nor EOR will enable us to meet the targets laid out in the Paris Agreement (ie keeping temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius). Using captured carbon to make fuel is at best carbon neutral and extracting more oil is fundamentally at odds with efforts to curtail climate change.. Research (Mac Dowell, Fennell, Shah, and Maitland, 2017) clearly shows that converting captured carbon into liquid fuels releases CO2 into the atmosphere and does not contribute to the CO2 mitigation challenge. Turning captured carbon into burnable fuel may prove to be a costly distraction both financially and politically. As stated by Dan Lashof of the World Resources Institute, this could even be used as a justification to extend the life of the fossil fuel era (Rathi, 2019).

However, some of the technologies associated with extracting carbon from the burning of fossil fuels have contributed to approaches that can be repurposed for non-fuel-based sequestration. So while we should evaluate approaches like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), we should not overlook applications of CCU and direct air capture (DAC) that can use captured carbon to make other things besides combustible fuels (e.g.: construction materials or carbon fiber).

It is also important to understand that the fossil fuel industry’s investment in EOR has advanced our knowledge of carbon capture. EOR has been a powerful financing mechanism to hone technological proficiency as an interim step towards a post-fossil fuel world. Having markets for captured carbon reduces the cost of carbon dioxide reduction (CDR) and this can lower a barrier that impedes their development. As explained by Climeworks founder, Jan Wurzbacher, “It has to be for business; CO2 capture can’t work for free” (McGrath, 2017). EOR may offer a useful short-term economic incentive for some CDR projects but free markets on their own are unlikely to attract all the needed investment capital.

At present, there is a symbiotic relationship between the fossil fuel industry, CCS, CCU, and DAC. In 2018, 90 percent of captured CO2 was used for EOR (Jones, 2020) and this provides a much-needed economic incentive for CDR technologies. This is also an important source of revenue to finance CDR research. CCS is most often used in fossil fuel powered energy plants, and captured carbon in CCU applications is commonly used to make fuel. DAC is also funded by the fossil fuel industry. As explained by Susan Hovorka, a geologist with the University of Texas at Austin, oil, and DAC should mix. “It’s a perfectly reasonable step toward getting the NETs portfolio commercialized,” Hovorka said.

“If we want to do something like DAC on a Gt scale, we can’t do it without the help of the energy companies, ” said one NAS committee member (Kramer, 2020). The cost of CDR would be up to 70 percent higher without the fossil fuel industry’s support for CCS (EIA, n.d.). EOR is also a source of human resources. According to Christopher W. Jones, associate vice president for research at Georgia Institute of Technology, CCS used in conjunction with fossil fuels involve “transferable” know-how that could benefit DAC (Welch, 2020). Scaling CDR requires an immense workforce and EOR workers have the exact skill sets required (Kramer, 2018).

CDR has benefited from the fossil fuel industry’s investments, however, if the goal is to draw down atmospheric carbon, we cannot afford to focus on applications that extract or make fuel.

For references and more information go to CDR Resources. See also Glossary of Terminology Related to CDR.

Related

  • How 3 Carbon Removal Technologies Work Together to Mitigate Emissions
  • We Need a Carbon Removal Master Plan
  • Future Research Directions in Carbon Capture and CDR
  • What we Should and Should Not Do with Captured Carbon
  • Companies Leading Carbon Capture Technology
  • Assessment of the Leading Carbon Capture Companies
  • Assessment of Geological Carbon Sequestration
  • The Economic Opportunities Associated with Carbon Removal
  • Assessment of Carbon Capture Technologies (DACCS, CCU, and CCS)
  • The Costs and Scalability of Carbon Capture Technologies
  • Natural Climate Solutions for Carbon Sequestration
  • Short Brief on the State of Carbon Capture Research
  • Why We Need Carbon Capture and Sequestration
  • Negative Emission Technologies are our Last Hope
  • Examples of Carbon Capture Technology
  • Podcast: Richard Matthews Discusses Carbon Removal with Earthfeels
  • Evaluation Criteria to Assess Carbon Removal Technologies
  • Carbon Capture and Storage is Essential Post Paris
  • Carbon Capture and Storage (Videos)
  • Canada is Banking on Carbon Capture to Offset Tar Sands
  • The Farce of Canada’s Carbon Capture

ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Sustainability Deep Dive 2021

Next Post

Factors Detracting from and Contributing to Carbon Dioxide Removal

Related Posts

Thank Climeworks for the world's most sustainable gift

Thank Climeworks for the World’s Most Sustainable Gift

by Richard Matthews
December 21, 2021
0

There is a massive environmental toll associated with gift-giving, but what if you could give a gift that not only generates no waste but actually improves the state of the...

looking for carbon capture removal

Assessment of the Leading Carbon Capture Companies

by Richard Matthews
April 26, 2021
0

Here is a technical assessment of six companies leading the carbon capture space. These six companies are those whose core activity is carbon capture and storage (CCS). This includes Net...

Companies Leading Negative Emissions Technology

by Richard Matthews
April 5, 2021
0

The Biden administration's support for carbon capture and carbon removal technology is contributing to growing interest in companies working in this space.  Here are six of the best carbon capture...

Next Post
the pros and cons of carbon capture

Factors Detracting from and Contributing to Carbon Dioxide Removal

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • SoundCloud

Subscribe to the Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Economics

Ecological Governance Respecting Planetary Boundaries through Degrowth and Social Processes

by Richard Matthews
March 6, 2023
0

Planetary Boundaries We are in need of governance solutions to ecological crises that respect Planetary Boundaries. By re-embedding the economy...

Read more

Precipice: What Will It Take for Us to Avert the End of Civilization

February 27, 2023
Ecological Economics Vs. Classical Economics

Ecological Economics Vs. Classical Economics

February 11, 2023

Renewable Energy is Growing Rapidly but is it Enough to Stop Climate Change?

January 31, 2023
change oracle will explore the fundamental unworkability of capitalism

Confessions of a former capitalist: The journey that made me an advocate of systemic change

January 11, 2023
  • About
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Business and Economics
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Social Change
  • Events
  • Other

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Supply Chains
  • Economics
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
    • Wildfires
  • Investing
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Technology
    • Buildings
    • Carbon Capture
    • Food
    • Transportation
  • Social Change
    • Education
    • Activism
    • Psychology

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In