Forbes contributor Robert G. Eccles wrote a column on PACE Advisor Myles Allen’s positions on climate policy, especially the need for immediate climate action that can be taken before we are able to fully phase out fossil fuels. While we wait for this complete energy transition, it is important to deploy other solutions, including carbon capture––paid for by the fossil fuel industry.
From the article:
Justice for the fossil fuel industry means acknowledging its right and need to exist but also holding it accountable for the carbon it produces. As Professor Allen notes, “The greatest climate injustice of all, to my mind, is the fact that the most profitable industry the world has ever known is entirely dependent on selling a product that is causing a very serious problem and no one is even asking them to fix it.” So how to fix it? Here are a few ways that spring to my mind of how not to fix it: (1) divesting from fossil fuel stocks in the naïve belief this will keep them from producing their product (but fine to do so if you don’t believe in the long-term value proposition or you’re just not ethically comfortable holding these stocks), (2) yelling at banks who provide them financing, (3) demanding that fossil fuel companies have unrealistic plans for reducing their investments and production, (4) urging them to get into the renewable energy business (their business model and capabilities don’t lend themselves to this), (5) opposing carbon capture storage technologies using the argument they just prolong the life of the fossil fuel industry, (6) thinking that reporting on Scope 3 emissions will somehow reduce the demand of their customers, and (7) filing useless shareholder proposals using the language of “value creation” to mask a basic hatred of the industry (which all the haters depend on).
Which gets me to my fourth and last point. What is the solution? “There really is only one way to stop fossil fuels from causing global warming before the world stops using fossil fuels: we have to capture the carbon dioxide they generate and dispose of it, permanently, back underground.” The “underground” part is important. Turning fossil carbon into trees, water, and topsoil only delays its release into the atmosphere. The fossil fuel industry should take responsibility for doing this. It can start modestly, say one percent of the carbon it produces and building up to 100% by 2050. Let’s call this number the “geologically stored fraction.” This is what investors should be focused on, not Scope 3 emissions (although Scope 1 and 2 are fair game). Making this happen will require a mix of regulatory and market forces.
Can this be done? Absolutely. While fossil fuel companies don’t know wind and solar, they for sure know geological carbon management. The industry has a history of innovation and deep technological and engineering expertise for getting fossil fuels out of the ground, which often involving injecting stuff back into the ground. No question in my mind that it can figure out effective and cost efficient ways of putting carbon dioxide back underground at the scale required. In the beginning, the costs of doing so may be so small they just become a cost of doing business and preserving its needed license to operate. Ultimately, the costs will be borne by both the industry and its customers, which includes all of us. But if we want less carbon in the atmosphere but still want to enjoy the benefits of generating it, we must all be willing to pay our fair share for getting rid of it.
Read the full article here.