Page 51 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 27 Final
P. 51
The Environment
The myth of carbon
capture has enabled
fossil fuel industries
to continue spewing
emissions and pollution
despite climate,
environmental, and
environmental justice
consequences.
manufactured materials like of energy and resources, and
cement and plastics. However, the problem remains of where
to extract more oil and gas. a lack of certainty around to store all the carbon that is
Industry groups claim that CO2 remaining permanently captured.[3]
by using CO2 captured stored when materials break
from industrial facilities or down leads to questions of All of these iterations of carbon
the atmosphere it provides a permanence. If CO2 were to capture allow for fossil fuel
climate solution by storing be stored in materials such extraction and combustion to
this CO2 underground.[1] as plastics, it would support continue unabated, impacting
However, the goal is to the destructive oil and gas environmental justice
extract more fossil fuels. industries in multiple ways, communities, destroying
CCS as EOR is profitable as well as contribute to the biodiversity and causing
for extractive industries plastics pollution crisis. climate change.
in the U.S. through a
lucrative 45Q tax credit. Bioenergy with carbon Carbon Capture Will Never
Corporations can also sell capture and storage (BECCS) Be a Real Solution
the CO2 for use in EOR to is the dubious concept of Public funds for private
other companies for profit. burning wood pellets and gains: For decades the
[2] In addition, CCS is a capturing the CO2 emissions, promise of carbon capture
tremendous PR asset for which is falsely referred has failed to materialize.
fossil fuel industries. to as a “negative emission Yet, governments continue
technology” (see Bioenergy). to pour more research and
Carbon capture, utilization Direct air capture (DAC) is development tax dollars into
(use) and storage (CCUS) a largely theoretical concept these technologies that could
refers to a range of that proposes removing CO2 instead be used for renewable
technologies with many directly from the atmosphere and community-based just
unproven and still in using chemical and transition. Ultimately, it is
research stages. CCUS is mechanical means. It would the private sector that benefits
based on the idea that CO2 require deploying carbon from these public funds. For
could be converted into a capture machines on a vast example, in the U.S., the
new product to be stored in scale, using massive amounts second COVID-19 stimulus
ISSUE 27 | MAY 2024 51
