Carbon removal: Climate savior or distraction?

Presented by Williams: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Dec 18, 2023 View in browser   By Chelsea Harvey Presented by A carbon removal plant operated in Iceland by Climeworks is among just 27 direct air capture facilities in the world. | Halldor Kobbeins/AFP via Getty Images An idea scientists once envisioned would help remove small amounts of carbon from the atmosphere is steadily being built up as a global excuse to keep on burning fossil fuels. The technology, which was originally seen as a way to suck down “residual emissions” from industries like cement and steel, is now the object of a burgeoning international industry. It has already attracted the attention of major petrostates, like Saudi Arabia, as well as oil and gas companies that have touted its potential, as your host and Corbin Hiar reported today. “Carbon removal technologies offer an easy way out, to cover up business as usual, and the expansion of [polluting] industries right now — without any of the major transformations we need to see in rapid emissions cuts,” said Lili Fuhr, director of the fossil economy program at the Center for International Environmental Law, a nonprofit advocacy group. Researchers are racing to develop new carbon removal technologies. Startups today are exploring everything from special carbon-sequestering minerals sprinkled into the ocean to giant machines that guzzle pollution directly out of the air. But the core issue is that the international promotion of carbon removal has emerged well before the technology has reached a scale large enough to offset even modest residual emissions. Now the field’s growing popularity has divided scientists over how much money and attention the world should devote to it — and whether it holds real promise or largely distracts from making painful cuts in pollution. Last March, the leader of Occidental Petroleum, Vicki Hollub, said the technology “gives our industry a license to continue to operate for the next 60, 70, 80 years.” As interest grows, some experts suggest that clearer global guidelines from the U.N. could help ensure carbon removal doesn’t become a force for climate action lollygagging. At the very least, they say, nations must deliver more clarity on their expectations for their own leftover emissions and carbon removal strategies in the coming decades. Oliver Geden, who leads the climate policy and politics group at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said having clear plans in place, which other countries can review and critique, could help avert “magic-bullet thinking” — and avoid the assumption that carbon removal can mop up the world’s messes in the years to come.   It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Chelsea Harvey. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to charvey@eenews.net.   A message from Williams: Meeting increasing energy demands while reducing emissions requires collaboration and balanced energy solutions. As a trusted operator with more than 100 years of experience in the evolution of energy delivery, Williams is leveraging its existing infrastructure to reliably meet increasing energy needs while supporting emissions reductions. Learn more about how our natural gas focused strategy embraces change and complements the growth of renewables.   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Alex Guillén and Catherine Morehouse discuss whether the U.S. can achieve the goals from last week's U.N. climate summit. Power Centers Four small lakes are pictured with remnant ice on the northwestern side of Teshekpuk Lake in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. | Craig McCaa/Bureau of Land Management Alaska Drill, baby, drill? The Interior Department's proposed rules for drilling in the western Arctic could either thwart an oil boom or pave the way for one — depending on whom you ask, writes Heather Richards. The rules would direct the Bureau of Land Management to consider and mitigate the cumulative impacts of oil and gas activity in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve. But it doesn't bar development across the roughly 13 million acres currently set aside for conservation. Oil and gas supporters say the rules would effectively make it impossible to drill in most desirable areas. But some environmentalists say the rules don't go far enough to address the extensive oil and gas leases that are already held by companies in the reserve. The Senate's home stretch The Senate is still in session, trying to hammer out a deal on President Joe Biden's supplemental funding request to aid allies in conflicts overseas, Andres Picon writes. Wrapped up in the supplemental request is nearly $3 billion for uranium processing grants, using unspent money from the 2021 infrastructure law. But with the House having already left D.C. and the supplemental aid package tied up in thorny border talks, it remains to be seen if the Senate will make any progress this week.   A message from Williams:   In Other News Not a conspiracy theory: Airlines including American, Delta and KLM are exploring whether they can reduce a flight's planet-warming impact by avoiding the creation of contrails, the thin clouds that trail behind airplanes. Halt: BP has temporarily stopped oil tankers from sailing through the Red Sea after a series of attacks on vessels there by Houthi forces. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Firefighters extinguish a burning house that was set ablaze by a wildfire in Whittier, California, last year. | Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP Climate change made property insurance harder to get for everyday people in 2023, and not just in disaster-prone states. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a process for turning carbon dioxide into a clean fuel. The U.K. will tax imports of steel, cement and other heavy emitters starting in 2027, bringing the nation in line with E.U. standards. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   A message from Williams: As we approach important climate targets, our planet is still burning more coal worldwide for electricity generation than any other time in history. Replacing carbon-intensive coal with natural gas is a readily available, pragmatic solution to dramatically reduce emissions. Globally, switching the top 5% of carbon emitting power generation plants would reduce world emissions from power generation by 30%. Natural gas, in partnership with renewables, is the best way to efficiently and affordably meet increasing clean energy demands brought on by electrification while providing reliable backup capacity to support the growing deployment of solar and wind power. Currently, natural gas powers more American electricity generation than all renewables combined and has 100% reliability as ascribed by regulators. Our industry can address this complex energy landscape with infrastructure developments and investments in the advancement of natural gas—a must-have complementary fuel to grow alongside renewables. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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