Our capitalist rulers are *very* clever. They realize that many people are concerned about climate change and want our governments to take action against it. 

So they come up with cool-sounding ideas like "Carbon Capture and Storage" to make it appear as if something is being done — when in reality that same technology is being used to *increase* fossil fuel extraction and sales, producing even more profits for the oil and gas industry. 

It's a win-win for the capitalists: They look good AND they make more money. 

Business As Usual goes on...
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When Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber opens the 28th annual UN climate conference in Dubai in November, he will be juggling two roles – convincing the world of the United Arab Emirates’ leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while preserving the very industry that’s causing them. 

In addition to his job as summit president, Al Jaber heads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which plans to increase its oil and gas output by 11% by 2027. The company says that more oil will mean less emissions, however — provided the industry builds enough facilities to capture carbon dioxide (CO2), the main gas causing the climate crisis.  

On September 6, ADNOC finalized a deal to build a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the UAE’s Habshan oil and gas field, extending the company’s existing CCS operations at a steel plant. Now projected to become one of the largest carbon capture plants in the Middle East, ADNOC says the facility will have the equivalent climate impact of removing 500,000 cars from the road.

In fact, the project will be used to squeeze even more oil from the ground. Most of the CO2 ADNOC already captures is pumped into existing oil wells, forcing residual crude to the surface in a process known as “enhanced oil recovery.” 

It is a trend reflected across the sector: Of the 32 commercial CCS facilities operating worldwide, 22 use most, or all, of their captured CO2 to push more oil out of already tapped reservoirs. But the fact that existing carbon capture projects are mostly used to bring more oil to the surface has not stopped oil and gas companies championing the technology as a climate solution in the run-up to COP28.
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That's from an excellent investigative piece by DeSmog, which makes it clear that Al Jaber is not the only villain. Oil companies in the US pioneered this devious plan years ago, and Europe soon followed. 

Meanwhile, as long as people continue to believe this decades-old lie, why not just run with it?

FULL ARTICLE -- https://www.desmog.com/2023/09/25/how-carbon-capture-and-storage-projects-are-driving-new-oil-and-gas-extraction-globally/

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual #COP28