Message From the Editor

This week kicked off with an in depth study by Michael Buchsbaum and Edward Donnelly of 12 large-scale projects that made bold promises to capture carbon. But our study reveals a litany of cost-overruns and missed targets, with a net increase in emissions.

For years, experts have pointed out that carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been primarily used to pump more oil out of the earth, using a process known as enhanced oil recovery. Burning that oil emits far more carbon dioxide than what is captured, and therefore CCS doesn’t represent a viable solution to tackle climate change, critics argue.

This expansive project covers plants like the successful Terrell Natural Gas Processing Plant (“Val Verde”) and the Shute Creek Treating Facility that failed to meet about a third of its capture targets.

Over in Europe, a new, ‘truly historic’ youth climate trial is challenging 32 European nations.

After Portugal experienced massive wildfires and extreme heat waves this summer, six children and youth from the nation appeared in the European Court of Human Rights Wednesday for a landmark lawsuit against nations charged with violating their human rights due to the impacts of climate change.

The accused countries argue the lawsuit should be thrown out.

But “this court is uniquely well placed to address these legal issues in the transnational way that climate change requires,” says lawyer Alison Macdonald. “Piecemeal regulation across Europe represents no effective remedy.”

DeSmog also announced our new partnership with Clean Creatives to accelerate collaboration on climate action. Each partner will launch its own dedicated channel to scale global engagement around its solutions. Read more about this exciting joint effort and our new co-hosted channel with Climate Whistleblowers here!

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter.

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

P.S. Investigative journalism like this is made possible by readers like you. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image credit: Sabrina Bedford

Fossil Fuel Companies Made Bold Promises to Capture Carbon. Here’s What Actually Happened.

— By Michael Buchsbaum and Edward Donnelly (14 min. read) —

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) was high on the agenda at New York Climate Week last week, where critics of the technology raised concerns it would be used to extend the life of the fossil fuel industry.

For years, experts have pointed out that CCS has been primarily used to pump more oil out of the earth, using a process known as enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Burning that oil emits far more carbon dioxide (CO2) than what is captured, and therefore CCS doesn’t represent a viable solution to tackle climate change, critics argue. 

Youth Challenge 32 European Nations in ‘Truly Historic’ Climate Trial

— By Isabella Kaminski (6 min. read) —

After Portugal experienced massive wildfires and extreme heat waves this summer, six children and youth from the nation appeared in the European Court of Human Rights Wednesday for a landmark lawsuit against 32 European nations charged with violating their human rights due to the impacts of climate change.

At the hearing in Strasbourg, France, lawyers representing six Portuguese young people said the youth were being discriminated against by state inaction in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the effects of which have been “foreseeable for decades.”

‘Embarrassingly Wrong’ Tufton Street Net Zero Report Gets Widespread Coverage

— By Sam Bright (5 min. read) —

A report from the Tufton Street group Civitas on the supposed cost of net zero was featured in several major newspapers today despite serious data errors. 

Authored by management consultant Ewen Stewart, the report claimed that achieving net zero emissions will cost the UK £4.5 trillion, or £6,000 per household per year, by 2050.

A System of Secret Arbitration Tribunals Is Undercutting Climate Action Worldwide

— By Isabella Kaminski (5 min. read) —

Investors in foreign development projects have “weaponized” a system of secretive tribunals, delaying progress on climate change and other environmental crises and having “enormous impacts on human rights,” according to a  new report by a United Nations expert.

David R. Boyd, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, concludes in the report that these controversial arbitration mechanisms, which are contained in thousands of investment treaties, have led to “exorbitant damages awards against states, permits granted for environmentally destructive activities and the rollback of vital rules addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”

Major Polluters In ‘Ludicrous’ Push For Carbon Capture at Party Conferences

— By Adam Barnett and Rachel Sherrington (5 min. read) —

A trade group for contested carbon capture with close ties to major oil and gas companies is sponsoring over a dozen events at the Conservative and Labour conferences over the next fortnight. 

Fossil fuel companies are using the technology as “a fig leaf” to pursue oil and gas drilling, campaigners have warned, as industry lobbyists across the energy sector seek to win over policymakers.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: The TaxPayers’ Alliance

The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) is a British organization that campaigns for a low tax society and greater transparency with taxpayer money. It was founded in 2004 by Matthew Elliott, subsequently Chief Executive of the official pro-Brexit campaign Vote Leave, and Andrew Allum, a partner at L.E.K Consulting. Alongside climate science denial think tank the Global Warming Policy Foundation, the TPA is part of the network of right-wing lobby groups based at 55 Tufton Street. The group has traditionally opposed government measures to combat climate change, supporting the abolition of the Climate Change Levy, which incentivizes businesses to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions, and Air Passenger Duty, the UK‘s only tax on air travel. The group has also campaigned against increases in fuel duty.

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database and Koch Network Database.