{"id":389986,"date":"2025-07-20T20:38:42","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T18:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=389986"},"modified":"2025-07-20T20:38:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T18:38:44","slug":"counterpunch-is-partially-right-carbon-capture-and-storage-is-a-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=389986","title":{"rendered":"CounterPunch is (Partially) Right: Carbon Capture and Storage is a Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Screenshot from Ted talk “What the fossil fuel industry doesn’t want you to know.”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From ClimateRealism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Linnea Lueken<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent article at the website CounterPunch titled, \u201cAl Gore Puts Down \u2018Climate Realism,\u2019<\/a>\u201d responding to a TED talk given by Al Gore<\/a>, says that carbon capture and storage and direct air carbon capture are \u201clike fool\u2019s gold,\u201d which neither reduces the carbon content of the air to a meaningful degree nor does so in a cost-effective way. This is true, though not in the way or for the reasons CounterPunch writers articulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many nonsensical and false claims in the CounterPunch post; to address them all, but we will focus on the post\u2019s very interesting claims about carbon capture and storage, and direct air capture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CounterPunch writer Robert Hunziker says that one of the ways the fossil fuel industry tries to convince people that the fuels that built and maintain modern civilization are useful and good, is by claiming that \u201ccarbon capture and storage and direct air capture and recycling of plastics will handle everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hunziker quotes Al Gore as saying \u201cThese things are much better at capturing politicians than they are at capturing emissions!\u201d He then goes on to claim that if carbon capture is \u201cinefficient, the \u2018climate realism\u2019 argument is destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is true insofar as it addresses the climate \u201crealists\u201d who still think that carbon dioxide is a pollutant and worth removing from the air, which this website (Climate Realism<\/em>) in particular does not agree with. Indeed, if climate apologists in the oil industry and other industries that invest in credits generated by direct air capture<\/a> are right and carbon dioxide is a problem that needs addressing, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the way to go, then their argument is<\/em> ruined if carbon capture is a farce.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
There are 3 basic steps to DAC that produce 2 outputs: concentrated CO2 and filtered air.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If CCS does not actually accomplish what proponents claim at realistic costs, then their argument is destroyed. CounterPunch and Hunziker are right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the argument that most \u201cclimate realists\u201d make, however. CCS is a scam, for the reasons Hunziker addresses, but also because it is unnecessary. Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, and there is nothing wrong<\/a> with using fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCarbon capture cannot physically costs-effectively reduce emissions,\u201d Hunziker writes, then cites an article<\/a> posted by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, among others, to show that carbon capture is inefficient and costly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Heartland Institute study<\/a> from January of this year (2025) demonstrated how nothing about CCS is worth the current trend of government-funded CCS companies being able to use eminent domain to take private land in order to install CCS pipelines. CCS projects are not profitable on their own. According to the study, \u201cthe overall CCS process can cost up to $144 per metric ton,\u201d not including the initial capital investment of a commercial scale project, which can cost billions. The Heartland study estimates that global expenses on CCS projects as of 2023 were around $20 billion, with up to $200 billion worth of projects approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, members of both the Republican and Democrat parties in the United States advocate for subsidizing CCS projects heavily to the tune of billions of taxpayer dollars. As explained in this<\/a> Climate Realism<\/em> post, the majority of government Research & Development dollars given to coal companies by the government is earmarked for CCS and other net-zero aims. While both trees and carbon capture technologies play a role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, trees are generally considered more efficient at carbon sequestration due to their lower cost, self-powered nature, and established presence as a natural carbon sink. Simply plant more trees if you want to capture carbon dioxide directly out of the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CCS at the power plant level makes electricity more expensive by necessity due to the amazingly high cost of installing and using the energy-intensive equipment, and retrofits on plants<\/a> can reduce the output of a coal power plant by up to 28 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is one situation in which carbon capture is not a scam, and that is Carbon Capture Utilization \u2013 in which captured gas is injected to help stimulate oil production in Enhanced Oil Recovery operations. Climate activists and sympathetic media are unsurprisingly not appreciative of this use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where CounterPunch and climate realists really differ on this point is this: CCS isn\u2019t only expensive and inefficient, it is unnecessary. Carbon dioxide emissions are not causing a climate emergency; weather is not getting more extreme<\/a>, and none of the alleged \u201ctipping points<\/a>\u201d we\u2019ve been warned about for decades are any closer to being crossed, despite media claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, CounterPunch is correct to point out that CCS is a scam, it absolutely is, and is a massive waste of billions of dollars. They missed the main reason, though, and that is that it is totally unnecessary. In no way does rejecting carbon capture and storage \u201cput down\u201d Climate Realism; Al Gore and CounterPunch will need to find another strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent article at the website CounterPunch titled, \u201cAl Gore Puts Down \u2018Climate Realism,\u2019\u201d responding to a TED talk given by Al Gore, says that carbon capture and storage and direct air carbon capture are \u201clike fool\u2019s gold,\u201d which neither reduces the carbon content of the air to a meaningful degree nor does so in a cost-effective way. This is true, though not in the way or for the reasons CounterPunch writers articulated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":389988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819079,691821807,691829997,691826685,691836700,691836699],"class_list":{"0":"post-389986","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-al-gore","9":"tag-carbon-capture-and-storage-ccs","10":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","11":"tag-counterpunch","12":"tag-enhanced-oil-recovery-operations","13":"tag-robert-hunziker","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0al-gore-ted-talk.jpg?fit=1137%2C659&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Ds6","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":299394,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=299394","url_meta":{"origin":389986,"position":0},"title":"Punching Back at Counterpunch\u2019s False Climate Claims","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/02\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A website called Counterpunch.com ran a story on January 31st saying that we must solve climate change or disaster will befall us. The story is titled, \u201cSolving Climate Change\u2026or Else!\u201d\u00a0by\u00a0Stan Cox. As we\u2019ve written\u00a0time\u00a0and\u00a0again\u00a0on\u00a0Climate Realism,\u00a0these sorts of claims about worsening disasters are easily proven false simply by looking at historical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0weather_pictures-1890x699-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0weather_pictures-1890x699-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0weather_pictures-1890x699-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0weather_pictures-1890x699-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0weather_pictures-1890x699-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C444&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":381054,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=381054","url_meta":{"origin":389986,"position":1},"title":"E&E News Analyses Grok AI\u2019s Balanced Presentation of the Climate Change Debate","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"31\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Climate Realism\u00a0has spent years scrutinizing climate science claims; thus, it was heartening to read Scott Waldman\u2019s recent E&E News article, titled\u00a0\u201cIs climate change a threat? It depends, says Elon Musk\u2019s AI chatbot.\u201d\u00a0The article highlights how Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI, is presenting the debate about the causes and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"AI models\"","block_context":{"text":"AI models","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ai-models"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0Screenshot-2025-05-31-181253.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0Screenshot-2025-05-31-181253.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0Screenshot-2025-05-31-181253.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0Screenshot-2025-05-31-181253.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0Screenshot-2025-05-31-181253.png?fit=1200%2C755&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":389550,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=389550","url_meta":{"origin":389986,"position":2},"title":"Winning: Gore Fears Climate Realists \u2013 The Climate Realism Show\u00a0#165","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/07\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Heartland Institute\u2019s Anthony Watts, Sterling Burnett, Linnea Lueken, Jim Lakely, and our special guest Lois Perry, director of Heartland UK\/Europe, will cover some of the breaking and crazy climate news of the week from around the world.","rel":"","context":"In \"Al Gore\"","block_context":{"text":"Al Gore","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=al-gore"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0Screenshot-2025-07-18-165123.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0Screenshot-2025-07-18-165123.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0Screenshot-2025-07-18-165123.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0Screenshot-2025-07-18-165123.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0Screenshot-2025-07-18-165123.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":229892,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=229892","url_meta":{"origin":389986,"position":3},"title":"Wrong Again: Al Gore Nobel Lecture Edition","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/11\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Per the World Meteorological Organization, the average global temperature in 2020 was 58.8\u00b0F vs. a fever which is a body temperature in excess of 98.6\u00b0F or so. So no \u201cfever.\u201d","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/00Al-Gore.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/00Al-Gore.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/00Al-Gore.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/00Al-Gore.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/00Al-Gore.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":273354,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=273354","url_meta":{"origin":389986,"position":4},"title":"Stop the Carbon Capture\u00a0Insanity","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"14\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In other words, we would need to find an underground location (or locations) able to swallow a volume equal to the contents of 41 oil supertankers each day, 365 days a year.","rel":"","context":"In \"Biden Administration\"","block_context":{"text":"Biden Administration","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biden-administration"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0carbon-cycle45.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0carbon-cycle45.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0carbon-cycle45.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0carbon-cycle45.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0carbon-cycle45.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":196731,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=196731","url_meta":{"origin":389986,"position":5},"title":"Exxon Values Carbon Capture Market At $4 Trillion By 2050","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/04\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon you\u2019re talking real money \u2013 or not? Where is this finance supposed to come from, and how is so-called \u2018carbon\u2019 capture supposed to be an investment opportunity? Try making an oil tanker without fossil fuels.\u2013 \u2013 \u2013Exxon made a bold announcement\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0exxon-oil.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0exxon-oil.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0exxon-oil.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0exxon-oil.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0exxon-oil.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=389986"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":389993,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389986\/revisions\/389993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/389988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=389986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=389986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=389986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}