So the experts say CCS is a dud.

ExxonMobil CEO:

CCS is a cool technology (makes big profit for us) and
Fossil fuel companies are the ONLY people who can help you with that tech;
Never mind that the tech is unproven and expensive and –

What, the public doesn't want to pay for our profit, you'd rather have cheap wind and solar?
IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT THERE'S NO CLIMATE ACTION.
Why won't climate activists let us help WAAAAH.

Wow.
Gaslighting at its finest.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4494543-exxon-ceo-blames-public-for-failure-to-fix-climate-change/

So far, "nearly all #CCS projects in the U.S. are actually enhanced-recovery projects that keep the oil and gas flowing."

Real, long-term CO2 storage requires the right site.

"But site characterization takes time that we don't have. The DOE spent more than 20 years evaluating Yucca Mountain. It spent some 14 years studying the New Mexico site."

But we need to HALVE CO2 emissions by 2030.

"Right now [CCS is] mostly a dangerous distraction."

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-false-promise-of-carbon-capture-as-a-climate-solution/

Overview of methods to capture and store carbon.
None of these look all that great.

The message is not, which method is best,
the message is: CUT the emissions.

https://theconversation.com/not-all-carbon-capture-projects-pay-off-for-the-climate-we-mapped-the-pros-and-cons-of-each-and-found-clear-winners-and-losers-218425

"Its Wyoming-based Project Bison plans to capture 5 million metric tons of CO2 annually by 2030 - a tiny fraction of U.S. overall carbon emissions of more than 6 billion tons per year. The company hopes to use improve its technology and scale it up.

The oil industry sees the technology as a potential lifeline because it can remove carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels."

#CCS
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/us-based-carboncapture-raises-80-mln-saudi-aramco-others-2024-03-12/

America’s #CornBelt Bristles at $8 Billion Lifeline

"After regulator pushback and vocal opposition from #farmers who don’t want to be anywhere near a project they claim tramples on landowner rights, Summit Carbon Solutions has gone back to the drawing board to revise the #pipeline’s path 6,300 times."

#CCS
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-13/summit-carbon-pipeline-in-us-corn-belt-awaits-state-permits-farmer-support?srnd=homepage-americas

Someone needs to tell farmers that an acre of solar panels can give 70 times the EV miles than an acre of corn can drive a gas car.

The Decatur, IL plant received $281 million in taxpayer dollars.
It produces ethanol from corn (grown using a lot of diesel and fossil fuel-derived fertiliser).

The plant has captured only 10-12 percent of the plant’s emissions at most.

"Some studies have shown that ethanol blended with gasoline is worse for the climate than straight gasoline because of the vast amounts of land needed to grow corn, plus emissions from making it and burning it in vehicles."

https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/post/in-illinois-a-massive-taxpayer-funded-carbon-capture-project-fails-to-capture-about-90-percent-of-plants-emissions
#CCS

Lies, damn lies, and "carbon capture and sequestration"

"Projections of the size and scale of a future #CCS industry should come with heavy doses of scepticism."

Also:
"When the Australian reported that “#Australia could generate nearly $600bn in revenue”, what we are actually referring to is revenue for the organisations proposing #CarbonCapture and storage projects. Right now, that’s mostly oil and gas companies."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/22/australia-60bn-carbon-capture-ccs-windfall-claim-aep

This makes explicit why the #FossilFuel industry is pushing so hard for "carbon capture" and "hydrogen with #CCS": It's an excuse to keep pumping oil and gas.

"Aramco is heavily investing in #CarbonCapture technology and aims to produce blue ammonia, which has a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional ammonia."

BUT

"It is very difficult to identify any off-take agreement in Europe [for blue hydrogen]... and they explained it's because of the high cost."

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Saudi-Aramco-Aims-for-Net-Zero-Without-Cutting-Oil-Production.html

I'm a sucker for back-of-the-envelope estimates.

"In 2023, total CO2 #emissions were about 37 billion metric tons. If we wanted to remove just this amount each year, to keep the carbon dioxide level from rising, it would require 764 gigawatts of power. It would probably take more than 1,000 nuclear power plants.

The takeaway is pretty clear: Any idea that we can maintain our current lifestyle and just suck the CO2 out of the air afterwards is a fantasy."

https://www.wired.com/story/the-stupendous-energy-cost-of-direct-air-capture/
#CCS

@CelloMomOnCars
I wonder how many square miles/kilometers of wetlands we'd need to restore and how much arable land we'd need to turn back to woodlands to accomplish the same thing.

We live near a busy highway.I think about these things as the cars stream by.

@jeffc

I once did another back-of-the-envelope estimate, and arrived at about 225 mature trees required to soak up the CO2 emitted by a single Prius driven 15,000 miles a year.