IEA says don’t bank on carbon capture

Carbon capture and storage has become a key plank of the Canadian oil and gas sector’s decarbonization goals, but a new report from the International Energy Agency warns against banking on the technology as the planet continues to warm.

In a report released recently, the Paris-based IEA said oil and gas companies need to start “letting go of the illusion” that “implausibly large” amounts of carbon capture are the solution to the global climate crisis.

Carbon capture and storage refers to the use of technology to sequester harmful greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes and store them safely underground.

In Canada, carbon capture and storage has become a key pillar of the oil and gas sector’s decarbonization goals.

Oilsands companies, for example, have banded together to propose a $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage project in northern Alberta that they say will help them reach net-zero emissions from production by 2050.

The federal government is also trying to spur investment in the pricey technology with the promise of a tax credit for companies that deploy carbon capture projects. Legislation to implement the tax credit is expected to be tabled within weeks.

But while the IEA report acknowledges that carbon capture is an important tool in the fight against climate change — particularly when it comes to offsetting emissions from sectors that have no viable alternative solutions — it warns against “excessive expectations” and reliance on the technology.

The report states that limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the target the international community committed to with the Paris Agreement, would require an “inconceivable” 32 billion tonnes of emissions to be sequestered by carbon capture by 2050. The report states oil and gas companies need to consider diversifying into clean energy rather than simply counting on carbon capture to help them maintain the status quo.

Several global organizations, including the United Nations, have said large-scale carbon capture will be essential if the world is to have a chance at winning the climate battle.

But some environmentalists say the oil and gas sector is looking to the technology to give it licence to increase production of fossil fuels that would be better left in the ground.

That includes the large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage, he added, but projects will need to move quickly in order to make an effective dent in Canada’s overall emissions profile.