EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 2/10/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: Canada's Alberta province files trade challenge over scrapped Keystone XL pipeline
KCAU: Carbon pipeline projects apply for Iowa Utilities Board’s approval despite counties, landowners’ opposition
KELO: CO2 pipeline developer takes a step in SD
The Hawk Eye: Des Moines County Board of Supervisors consider three carbon capture pipeline inspectors
The Tyee: Wet’suwet’en Call on the UN to Support Land Battle
Press release: 150+ Organizations Demand Banks Defund Coastal GasLink, Respect Wet'suwet'en Rights
Guardian: ‘They criminalize us’: how felony charges are weaponized against pipeline protesters
Reuters: U.S. pipeline firm Williams hires LNG executives for new marketing arm
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Here comes the social cost of carbon. Will it address EJ?
STATE UPDATES
Los Angeles Times: Huntington Beach oil spill inspires legislation to ban California offshore drilling
OPB: Fuel spill in Portland after a major earthquake could be bigger than Deepwater Horizon, study finds
EXTRACTION
Wall Street Journal: Projects to Capture Carbon Emissions Get New Boost Despite Dismal Record
S&P Global: Oil producer Denbury plans CO2 storage hub in southern Alabama
Yale Environment 360: Methane Levels Hit New High, While the Cause of Rising Emissions Remains a Mystery
CLIMATE FINANCE
Bloomberg: A $23 Billion Fund Is Dumping Oil Bonds
OPINION
NRDC: Biden Administration Should Reverse Trump Pipeline Actions
The Hill: Climate will define Biden's legacy
Rabble.ca: Can carbon capture help resolve the climate crisis?
PIPELINE NEWS
Reuters: Canada's Alberta province files trade challenge over scrapped Keystone XL pipeline
By Nia Williams, 2/9/22
“The Canadian province of Alberta on Wednesday formally initiated a trade challenge to recover its investment in the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which was scrapped in 2021 after the United States cancelled a key permit,” Reuters reports. “Alberta, Canada's largest oil-producing province, had invested C$1.3 billion in the project and is seeking compensation from the United States through a legacy North American Free Trade Agreement claim, under the new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement… “The pipeline's developer TC Energy (TRP.TO) also filed a legacy NAFTA claim seeking more than $15 billion in damages last year. "After examining all available options, we have determined a legacy claim is the best avenue to recover the government's investment in the Keystone XL project," Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said in a statement. "We remain disappointed about the events and circumstances that led to the cancellation of this project."
KCAU: Carbon pipeline projects apply for Iowa Utilities Board’s approval despite counties, landowners’ opposition
Dillon Adams, 2/9/22
“20 of Iowa’s counties so far — including Woodbury — have formally objected to carbon capture pipeline projects like Summit Carbon Solutions, and landowners whose property are in the pipeline’s route are starting to speak out as well,” KCAU reports. “...Questions were asked about the potential dangers of carbon dioxide running underground and what would happen if the line were to break, and those same concerns are still in the minds of affected landowners today. “And it’s not if there will be a rupture, it’s just when there’ll be a rupture. So huge safety concerns, it’s a high-pressure line over two thousand pounds,” Deb Main, a landowner who has property in Summit’s route, told KCAU. Main told KCAU her pasture land and livestock will be impacted by the pipeline and said she hasn’t heard much support from neighbors about the project. “It’s becoming a topic of conversation. I don’t know if I could find — I haven’t talked to one landowner who’s in favor of this. Not one,” Main told KCAU. Summit Carbon Solutions released this statement from CEO Bruce Rastetter: “Farmers and landowners in Iowa understand that ethanol production consumes over 50% of our corn crop every year, which is a big reason why we’ve had early success signing hundreds of pipeline easements with farmers who have a vested interest in our success.” The Iowa Utilities Board will have one calendar year to decide whether or not to approve the carbon capture plans, but Senate Bill 2160, recently introduced by Senator Jeff Taylor, would ban eminent domain use by private entities, halting any power the IUB would have to grant the carbon companies permission. “The government shouldn’t step in for something that really is not a public use, it’s a private use, it’s private profit. Even if there are some public benefits, it should still be up to the individual landowner to decide,” Sen. Taylor told KCAU.
KELO: CO2 pipeline developer takes a step in SD
Rae Yost, 2/9/22
“A developer of one of the proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines that will travel through South Dakota has applied for its permit with the state’s Public Utilities Commission, according to a news release,” KELO reports. “Summit Carbon Solutions of Iowa said it filed its permit application on Monday… “Seven ethanol biorefineries in South Dakota have partnered with Summit along the route, according to Summit… “The two proposed pipelines have drawn questions, opposition and support in several states. Concerns include the safety of the pipeline and the construction impact on land. Supporters say the pipelines would improve the sustainability of ethanol plants and be a boost to the rural economy… “Now that an application has been filed, the PUC will respond with a series of steps including meetings. “PUC will hold a public input meeting or meetings on a pipeline siting case, with 30 days notice, as physically close as practical to the proposed route.”
The Hawk Eye: Des Moines County Board of Supervisors consider three carbon capture pipeline inspectors
Laigha Anderson, 2/9/22
“The Des Moines County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday to discuss, among other things, how to move forward with a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline that, if all goes according to plan, will run through a portion of the county,” The Hawk Eye reports. “Three companies — Navigator CO2 Ventures, Summit Carbon Solutions and Wolf Midstream — are vying for a long-term carbon capture contract with Big River Resources that would result in hazardous liquid pipeline being installed through Des Moines County… “One of the main concerns the supervisors discussed with county engineer Brian Carter on Tuesday was how to proceed with hiring an inspector for Des Moines County… “Carter said there have been some discussions about a second pipeline that would run through Des Moines County depending upon paths of proposed pipelines throughout the state. If this were the case, Carter said the county may employ the same inspector later on down the line. Carter, however, is skeptical of whether Des Moines County will actually see the addition of a pipeline and that it's possible the county may not be included in any of the yet-to-be-decided routes. If this is the case, it's likely any plan for a second pipeline will fall apart without support.”
The Tyee: Wet’suwet’en Call on the UN to Support Land Battle
Amanda Follett Hosgood, 2/8/22
“Members of the Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en have submitted an eight-page document to the UN Human Rights Council, requesting it be presented at the council’s regular session in September,” The Tyee reports. “The governments of B.C. and Canada continue to violate Wet’suwet’en jurisdiction and the [United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples],” the submission reads. “Reconciliation will not come at the barrel of a gun. Canada and B.C. must withdraw the RCMP and associated policing and security services from our territory, and must immediately halt construction and suspend all permits for the construction of the CGL pipeline.” They also extended an invitation for a UN delegation to visit the nation’s territory in northern B.C. The Coastal GasLink pipeline is being built to carry gas from the province’s northeast to an LNG plant under construction in Kitimat. Hereditary Chiefs have opposed the project. The submission was prepared by Gidimt’en Clan Hereditary Chief Woos and clan Cas Yikh House members Molly Wickham, who holds the hereditary name Sleydo’, and Jen Wickham. It is supported by dozens of legal experts, Indigenous rights advocates and organizations, including the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Amnesty International Canada and the BC Civil Liberties Association. “We’ve been attempting to get our voices heard, attempting to get our facts straight with the government and industry, but to no avail,” Chief Woos, whose English name is Frank Alec, told the Tyee. “They continue to do what they’re doing. They’re literally not paying attention to our submissions in terms of environmental laws, in terms of human rights, racism from the RCMP, the whole nine yards.” Woos told the Tyee the nation is calling on the UN to provide outside, non-partisan intervention in the high-profile dispute that has continued for more than three years.”
Press release: 150+ Organizations Demand Banks Defund Coastal GasLink, Respect Wet'suwet'en Rights
2/9/22
“We are writing with respect to your investments in the Coastal GasLink pipeline and LNG Canada projects and hereby formally request you divest and withdraw all financial support for these projects on human rights, environmental and climate related grounds… “The Wet’suwet’en have re-asserted their right to jurisdiction over their lands, to determine access and prevent trespass under 'Anic 'niwh'it'én (Wet'suwet'en law), and to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). The Coastal GasLink project is in violation of UNDRIP, adopted at both the provincial and federal level in Canada… “As your institution is providing financing for the Coastal Gaslink pipeline project, your institution is responsible for related human rights abuses and climate impacts, including recent violence perpetrated at the hands of the RCMP, including the use of lethal overwatch, k-9 units, and assault rifles trained on unarmed Indigenous women. In addition, Coastal Gaslink is responsible for violating international and constitutionally protected Indigenous rights in Canada by preventing Wet’suwet’en people from accessing their own lands. Blindly accepting CGL’s assertion that they have engaged in adequate consultation with First Nations Bands does not relieve you of your responsibilities to Indigenous communities… “We urge you to align your financing of infrastructure projects with human rights and climate considerations. Thus we the undersigned urge you to: Meet with Wet'suwet'en hereditary leadership to discuss their concerns, recent rights violations, and requests for an end to construction of the pipeline; and end financing of the Coastal Gaslink project.”
Guardian: ‘They criminalize us’: how felony charges are weaponized against pipeline protesters
Alexandria Herr, 2/10/22
“Last summer Sabine Von Mering, a professor of German at Brandeis University, drove more than 1,500 miles from Boston to Minneapolis to protest the replacement of the Line 3 oil pipeline that stretches from Canada’s tar sands down to Minnesota,” the Guardian reports. “Along with another protester, she locked herself to a semi-truck in the middle of a roadway, according to a filed court brief, as a means of peaceful resistance. But when she was arrested, she was charged with a serious crime: felony theft, which carries up to five years in prison. “It’s very scary that they criminalize us like that, and to face jail time,” Von Mering, 54, told the Guardian of her June arrest. “But what can I do? I feel responsible to my kids and future generations.” The felony charges come as more than a dozen states have passed laws to criminalize fossil fuel protests, and as the federal government has ramped up its own tactics for surveilling and penalizing protesters… “Legal advocates say that in Minnesota the elevated charges are a novel tactic to challenge protest actions against pipeline construction. They see them as furthering evidence of close ties between Minnesota’s government and the fossil fuel industry. It follows reporting by the Guardian that Canadian pipeline company Enbridge, which is building Line 3, reimbursed Minnesota’s police department $2.4m for time spent arresting protesters and on equipment including ballistic helmets. Experts say the reimbursement strategy for arrests is a new technique in both Minnesota and across the US, and there’s concern it can be replicated.” “...Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, director of the Center for Protest Law and Litigation warns that the repayment of policing costs by Enbridge creates an “exceptional corruption and perversion of the justice system and of democracy” by “funding law enforcements to act against the political opponents of the corporation.”
Reuters: U.S. pipeline firm Williams hires LNG executives for new marketing arm
By Marcy De Luna and Liz Hampton, 2/9/22
“U.S. natural gas pipeline operator Williams Companies has hired two veteran executives to set up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) marketing operation, according to employee profiles and people familiar with the matter,” Reuters reports. “New LNG production capacity this year will push the United States' processing capacity to 13.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), above top LNG exporters Australia and Qatar. U.S. exports of the fuel have soared, hitting 9.77 bcfd in 2021, up from just 4.99 bcfd three years ago, according to U.S. government data. The LNG marketing operation could put Williams into competition with Cheniere Energy, Shell Plc and QatarEnergy, which market their own production. The company operates 30,000 miles (48,280 km) of gas pipelines and expanded in the past year by acquiring gas acreage from Chesapeake Energy.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Here comes the social cost of carbon. Will it address EJ?
By Jean Chemnick, 2/10/22
“The White House is expected to release new values for climate change damage as soon as this month that reflect the disproportionate harm that vulnerable populations could face on a warming planet,” E&E News reports. “The social cost figures for carbon, methane and nitrous oxides attempt to translate each incremental ton of greenhouse gas emissions into dollars and cents. Federal agencies construct the figures — which are expressed as a range — using peer-reviewed models with inputs that run the gamut from global agricultural output to public health to property damage. The goal is to build a metric that will allow agencies to assess the savings, and costs, of their climate policies. The social cost metrics have been used in federal actions like rulemakings, lease sales and procurement decisions for over a decade. Biden is the third president whose administration will try to assign greenhouse gases a monetized value. And unlike the estimates developed under Presidents Trump and Obama, the Biden administration’s final social cost estimates are expected to account for social and racial inequity. Numerous studies show that the harm from climate change will be distributed unevenly, with poor populations in the U.S. and elsewhere feeling the worst affects while having the fewest resources to adapt to them.”
STATE UPDATES
Los Angeles Times: Huntington Beach oil spill inspires legislation to ban California offshore drilling
PHIL WILLON, 2/9/22
“Alarmed by damage caused by a major oil spill off the Huntington Beach coast in October, an Orange County legislator on Wednesday introduced a bill to end offshore oil production from rigs in California-controlled waters by 2024, a proposal sure to face fierce opposition and potential legal challenges from the petroleum industry,” the Los Angeles Time reports. “The legislation would affect 11 oil leases, all off the Orange and Ventura County coastlines. It would also allow the State Lands Commission, the agency with oversight of those contracts, to negotiate a voluntary relinquishment of the leases by oil companies before the state takes action. The cost of buying out or rescinding those leases is unclear, though the size of the industry suggests that the price tag could possibly cost the state tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars. State Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine) told the Times the action is necessary to protect the California coastline from another catastrophic oil spill similar to the one in October, which caused widespread environmental damage and led to beach closures that hurt the economies of Orange County coastal communities. The oil rigs off the coast and their aging infrastructure continue to pose a serious threat to California’s coast, he told the Times.”
OPB: Fuel spill in Portland after a major earthquake could be bigger than Deepwater Horizon, study finds
Monica Samayoa, 2/7/22
“A Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake could potentially cause the biggest fuel spill in U.S. history right in the middle of Portland, according to a new report,” OPB reports. “A magnitude 8 or 9 earthquake would cause deadly explosions and fires, the study says, and it would cost billions of dollars in repairs with devastating ecological impacts on the Willamette and Columbia rivers. The Multnomah County Office of Sustainability and the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management commissioned the study released on Monday that evaluates the potential damage a mega-earthquake could cause along a six-mile stretch of Portland’s industrial Northwest known as the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub. The area is home to more than 600 storage tanks full of fuels like oil, gasoline and diesel. More than 90% of the state’s liquid fuel supply is transported through the facilities located on this stretch of land, where scientists say the soil would liquefy during an earthquake and likely dump millions of gallons of stored fuel into the river… “The report by the consulting firm ECONorthwest forecasts that a mega-earthquake could result in 397 tanks releasing up to 194 million gallons of fuel stored in the industrial area, potentially exceeding the 134 million gallons released into the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.”
EXTRACTION
Wall Street Journal: Projects to Capture Carbon Emissions Get New Boost Despite Dismal Record
Jennifer Hiller and Collin Eaton, 2/7/22
“Petra Nova, once billed as the largest U.S. project to capture carbon-dioxide emissions from a coal-fired power plant, opened to considerable publicity in Texas in late 2016,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “...Carbon-capture projects are attracting renewed attention from investors and governments world-wide as concerns mount about the greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change. But the initiatives have a dismal record. More than 80% of proposed commercial carbon-capture efforts around the world have failed, primarily because the technology didn’t work as expected or the projects proved too expensive to operate, according to a 2020 study by researchers at Canada’s Carleton University, the University of California, San Diego and other institutions. The U.S. has spent $1.1 billion on carbon-capture demonstration projects since 2009, with uneven results, according to a December report from the Government Accountability Office. None of the eight coal projects selected for $684 million of the funding during that time is operating, the researchers found. Projects to capture carbon from heavy industries met with some success. While some early projects have demonstrated that it is technologically possible to collect carbon from power plants and industrial sites—or even directly out of the air—they have generally been very expensive. Many face a fundamental problem: there is no economic use for the carbon they capture… “A fresh round of U.S. carbon-capture projects is in the works, bolstered by around $12.1 billion in funding in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law last year by President Biden… “Exxon is proposing a project with other companies in Houston to capture and bury the carbon from an array of industries. But it would be difficult to launch at its proposed size without policy changes such as a larger tax credit, Erik Oswald, a vice president at Exxon, told the Journal.
S&P Global: Oil producer Denbury plans CO2 storage hub in southern Alabama
Jordan Blum, 2/8/22
“Texas oil producer Denbury said it plans to develop a large carbon dioxide storage hub in southern Alabama that would contribute to enhanced oil recovery production and emissions reduction efforts,” S&P Global reports. “The Denbury project with Natural Resource Partners is to evaluate and develop the permanent sequestration site on 75,000 acres near Mobile, Alabama. Denbury said it estimates the potential hub's total CO2 storage potential to be more than 300 million metric tons… “Denbury, which specializes in enhanced oil recovery techniques -- pumping carbon dioxide into wells to boost their production -- focuses on more mature oil fields in southeastern Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as the Rocky Mountain region… “Of late, Denbury has seized on the ongoing energy transition to tout itself as an oil producer that can help lower emissions. The Alabama CO2 project would fit with Denbury's tentative plans to achieve "carbon negative" operations on the US Gulf Coast by the end of the decade. "The combination of this site's significant expected CO2 storage capacity and its proximity to deepwater ports should enhance the region's appeal for newbuild industrial development with carbon capture," Denbury CEO Chris Kendall said in a statement.
Yale Environment 360: Methane Levels Hit New High, While the Cause of Rising Emissions Remains a Mystery
2/9/22
“Last year, atmospheric methane levels reached a grim new milestone, surpassing 1,900 parts per billion, the highest level in almost 40 years of record-keeping, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,” according to Yale Environment 360. “Concentrations of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, have been trending upward for more than a decade, with 2020 seeing the biggest one-year jump on record. Humans are producing the bulk of methane pollution by raising livestock, filling landfills, and drilling for oil and gas, research shows, but it’s not clear what is causing the spike in emissions. “The causes of the methane trends have indeed proved rather enigmatic,” Alex Turner, an atmospheric chemist at the University of Washington, told Nature. Recent research has yet to provide a clear answer, Turner said. Some scientists have speculated that the growth has been caused by the expansion of the oil and gas drilling, as methane is prone to leak from wells and pipelines, while others have suggested that methane-producing microbes in wetlands, landfills, and newly thawing permafrost are driving the emissions rise… “Perhaps countries with huge dairy and agricultural industries would prefer to downplay methane and use a 100-year timeframe,” said Sam Abernathy, a PhD candidate at Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences and lead author of the study. “Using a shorter time horizon, such as 24 years, would alter the magnitudes of commitments already made by valuing methane reductions significantly more.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Bloomberg: A $23 Billion Fund Is Dumping Oil Bonds
Frances Schwartzkopff, 2/10/22
“A Danish pension fund that manages the wealth of the nation’s academics will spend this year purging its portfolio of oil and gas bonds, after concluding that the assets pose a growing risk to returns,” Bloomberg reports. “AkademikerPension, which is based north of Copenhagen, says it will dump more than $300 million in fossil-fuel bonds through December. Issuers affected by the decision include Occidental Petroleum Corp., Gazprom PJSC and Petroleos Mexicanos, the $23 billion fund said in an email on Thursday. “We can see a tendency that fossil fuel bonds, like fossil fuel shares, start to price in stranded asset risks even in the last year with strong performing energy assets,” Anders Schelde, the chief investment officer of AkademikerPension, said in a statement. “We believe this may be the start of new headwinds for these bonds for the years to come.” The decision coincides with a wave of market turbulence triggered by a more hawkish Federal Reserve that’s forcing investment managers everywhere to adapt to higher interest rates. It also comes amid an energy crisis that’s driven up oil and gas prices. At the same time, anxiety over the pace of climate change has drawn pledges from across the financial industry to slash financed emissions. Many fund managers are responding by using so-called engagement strategies, whereby they hold on to high emitters and try to use their influence to force companies to adopt cleaner business models. But others, like AkademikerPension, are increasingly opting for exclusion strategies to protect their portfolios.”
OPINION
NRDC: Biden Administration Should Reverse Trump Pipeline Actions
Amy Mall, 2/9/22
“For those of us fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline, there’s some exciting news—but still plenty of work to be done,” Amy Mall of NRDC writes. “A federal appeals court has dealt the pipeline two successive blows. First, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently rejected decisions by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management that had allowed Mountain Valley Pipeline to proceed with construction in the Jefferson National Forest. The court found the agencies improperly ignored real-world data and conducted inadequate analysis of the impacts of the pipeline on forest resources, including water quality. Then, the same court overturned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s biological opinion and “incidental take” statement for Mountain Valley Pipeline, which govern the impacts to endangered species. The court found that the agency failed to adequately analyze the project's environmental impacts to two endangered species: the Roanoke logperch and the candy darter… “The Biden administration’s inaction to stop destructive Trump pipeline decisions is not limited to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The administration has also been defending Trump administration decisions for the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Line 3 pipeline. NRDC and our partners have made the case for why the bad Trump pipeline decisions should be reversed, but the Biden administration has not done that yet. Instead, it’s been defending these bad Trump decisions, which are riddled with analytical and legal flaws, in court. It’s time for the Biden administration to change course on pipelines and fulfill its commitment to protect the climate, clean water, and environmental justice.”
The Hill: Climate will define Biden's legacy
Jamal Raad is a co-founder and executive director for Evergreen Action, a climate action policy and advocacy organization that has played a key role in shaping the policies in the Build Back Better Act, 2/9/22
“When future generations look back at Joe Biden’s presidency, they will likely judge him by one metric above any other: his legacy on climate action,” Jamal Raad writes for The Hill. “The climate crisis is upon us, and its impacts are already devastating and deadly, but what happens in the next few years will determine whether our future is one of resilience and recovery or one of unmitigated climate catastrophe. With unified Democratic control of government and Congress considering a historic package of climate investments, Biden has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn the tide in the fight against climate change. But if he can’t deliver, his chief legacy will be failure on this defining issue of our time… “Biden must use his platform — in fact, the most powerful and influential position in the world — to forge a path forward with congressional leadership to deliver historic climate investments. Anything less would be a catastrophic failure. Failing to pass these bold climate investments would not only have far-reaching consequences for Biden’s legacy, it could also spell electoral doom for Democrats in 2022 and beyond… “Biden has a choice: He can lean in and lead to deliver transformational climate action, or he can give in to detractors and shirk responsibility for the most important issue of his lifetime. Either way, this moment will define his legacy — and when he addresses the nation in his State of The Union Address in March, the American people will be watching to see what path he chose. For the sake of all our futures, he must deliver bold climate action. Failure is not an option.”
Rabble.ca: Can carbon capture help resolve the climate crisis?
David Suzuki, 2/9/22
“Although carbon capture and storage hasn’t really taken off in Canada, or globally, proposals are mounting from corporations, pipeline companies, oilsands consortiums and chemical manufacturers,” David Suzuki writes for Rabble.ca. “Global heating is accelerating. Yet we continue to pump out fossil fuel emissions and destroy forests, wetlands, bogs, grasslands and marine kelp forests that remove, convert and store atmospheric carbon… “The few existing carbon capture and storage facilities have been costly and not overly effective… “Fossil fuel and other industries have latched onto carbon capture, utilization and storage as a way to continue business as usual, raking in profits—and government subsidies, including tax credits. Claims of significant reductions in operations emissions don’t account for the much greater emissions from burning the end products in cars and factories. Organizations like the International Energy Agency say it’s needed to address the climate crisis. But it’s expensive, and injecting massive amounts of CO2 into the ground, whether to force more oil or gas out or to store it, may not be problem-free… “Most would inject operations-generated CO2 deep underground, storing it in porous rock—requiring a lot of “pore space.” As with most “out of sight, out of mind” approaches, there could be unintended consequences. For one, the CO2 could leak. And, although people once thought no life existed below bedrock, bacteria have since been found kilometres underground—including methanogens, which convert CO2 to methane, a shorter-lived but much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2… “Technological innovation is critical to resolving the crisis, but governments shouldn’t subsidize expensive, time-consuming, often unproven technologies aimed more at keeping the fossil fuel industry alive than helping resolve climate disruption. And we can’t use current or future technologies to justify continuing to overload the atmosphere with CO2.”