It’s Time to End Carbon Capture

The document argues that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an ineffective and dangerous technology that serves the interests of polluters rather than the climate. It claims CCS is more expensive and energy-intensive than renewable alternatives, fails to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, and poses health and safety risks to frontline communities through increased toxic pollutants and pipeline hazards. The authors assert that nearly 80% of captured carbon is used for enhanced oil recovery and urge leaders in the US and Canada to shift public funding toward phasing out fossil fuels and investing in energy efficiency and natural carbon sinks.

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is characterized as an unnecessary and ineffective technology that has failed to significantly reduce CO2 emissions despite substantial public investment.
• The deployment of CCS is not economically viable for most heavy-emitting industries, such as chemical or plastic manufacturing, and diverts resources from scalable alternatives like renewable energy and material reuse.
• CCS increases environmental and health risks for frontline communities, as facilities must burn more fossil fuels to maintain energy output, leading to higher emissions of hazardous pollutants like fine particulates (PM2.5).
• The infrastructure required for CCS, specifically CO2 pipelines and storage, introduces risks of leaks, ruptures, and water contamination that disproportionately affect low-income, Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities.
• The primary benefit of CCS is to the fossil fuel industry, with nearly 80% of captured carbon utilized for enhanced oil recovery to extract more oil.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). It’s Time to End Carbon Capture. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CCS-Ad_The-Washington-Post_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. It’s Time to End Carbon Capture. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CCS-Ad_The-Washington-Post_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=It’s Time to End Carbon Capture |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CCS-Ad_The-Washington-Post_FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndits, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{It’s Time to End Carbon Capture}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CCS-Ad_The-Washington-Post_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }