FUEL TO THE FIRE

The report examines how carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and solar radiation modification (SRM) are promoted by fossil fuel interests to justify continued oil, gas, and coal production. It argues that these technologies often rely on fossil fuel by-products or enable enhanced oil recovery, creating a 'moral hazard' that distracts from viable renewable energy transitions.

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is frequently used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which increases the production of oil and gas. Proponents estimate that EOR could increase coal consumption by 40% and produce up to 923 million additional barrels of oil in the US by 2040.
• Direct air capture (DAC) is often marketed as a way to preserve existing energy systems by producing synthetic liquid fuels or providing CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, which can result in net carbon emissions.
• Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is heavily relied upon in climate models to justify 'overshooting' 1.5 degrees of warming, but its large-scale deployment would threaten global food security and could cause net emissions due to land clearance.
• Solar radiation modification (SRM), specifically stratospheric aerosol injection, poses significant environmental risks including acid rain, ozone depletion, and the disruption of global rainfall patterns, particularly in the Amazon.
• The fossil fuel industry has a long history of researching weather modification, such as Exxon's 1960s experiments with asphalt coatings to alter rainfall patterns, demonstrating an early interest in controlling the climate for profit.
• Geoengineering creates a 'moral hazard' by providing a perceived fallback option that allows governments and corporations to reduce their ambition for immediate greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
• Carbon mineralization is being proposed as a way to monetize and dispose of hazardous coal combustion waste (fly ash), though its actual capacity for meaningful carbon sequestration is estimated to be very low.
• The US FUTURE Act expanded tax credits under Section 45Q, which the report argues functions as a subsidy for the fossil fuel industry by incentivizing CCS for EOR and extending the life of fossil-fuel power plants.
• The report asserts that staying below 1.5 degrees of warming is possible without geoengineering through the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and the acceleration of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
• Renewable energy deployments, particularly solar PV and wind, have consistently exceeded the forecasts of official bodies like the International Energy Agency (IEA).

APA

Muffett, C., & Feit, S. (2019). FUEL TO THE FIRE. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CIEL_FUEL-TO-THE-FIRE_How-Geoengineering-Threatens-to-Entrench-Fossil-Fuels-and-Accelerate-the-Climate-Crisis_February-2019.pdf

Chicago

Muffett, Carroll, and Steven Feit. FUEL TO THE FIRE. Center for International Environmental Law, 2019. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CIEL_FUEL-TO-THE-FIRE_How-Geoengineering-Threatens-to-Entrench-Fossil-Fuels-and-Accelerate-the-Climate-Crisis_February-2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Muffett |first1=Carroll |last2=Feit |first2=Steven |title=FUEL TO THE FIRE |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=2019 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CIEL_FUEL-TO-THE-FIRE_How-Geoengineering-Threatens-to-Entrench-Fossil-Fuels-and-Accelerate-the-Climate-Crisis_February-2019.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{muffett2019fuel, author = {Muffett, Carroll and Feit, Steven}, title = {{FUEL TO THE FIRE}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2019}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CIEL_FUEL-TO-THE-FIRE_How-Geoengineering-Threatens-to-Entrench-Fossil-Fuels-and-Accelerate-the-Climate-Crisis_February-2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }