Direct Air Capture

The document examines the risks and inefficiencies of direct air capture (DAC), focusing on Oxy's Stratos project in Texas. It argues that DAC is used as a 'smokescreen' to prolong fossil fuel extraction through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and to capture public subsidies. The briefing highlights that DAC's projected global capacity is insignificant compared to total emissions and that its resource requirements—including water and toxic chemicals—pose environmental risks. It further critiques the influence of oil executives on COP28 leadership and the use of flawed carbon credits to justify continued pollution.

• Direct air capture (DAC) is characterized as an energy- and emissions-intensive technology that remains unproven at scale and is used by oil companies to avoid phasing out fossil fuels.
• A significant portion of captured carbon from DAC is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which the document claims adds more carbon to the atmosphere than it removes. For example, Oxy's Stratos project would add approximately 350,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually if all captured carbon is used for EOR, equivalent to the emissions of 77,000 cars.
• Analysis from the US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) indicates that Oxy's Stratos plant will only remove 39 percent of the CO2 it claims to capture once lifecycle emissions are considered, emitting 610 kg of CO2 for every 1,000 kg trapped.
• The global scale of DAC is described as insignificant; by 2030, all planned facilities would have a capture capacity of 4.7 megatonnes, which is only 0.01 percent of current global energy emissions.
• DAC deployment requires vast resources that pose ecological risks, including 5 to 13 tonnes of water per tonne of carbon captured and the use of toxic caustic chemicals like potassium hydroxide.
• The document asserts that DAC is heavily funded by public money, noting that Oxy's Stratos project could receive nearly USD 100 million per year in combined federal tax credits, state incentives, and local tax breaks.
• The briefing highlights a conflict of interest regarding COP28, noting that President Sultan Al Jaber is the CEO of ADNOC, which has a deal with Oxy to develop DAC projects, and that an Oxy executive serves on the COP28 leadership team.

APA

Pace, B., & Fendt, L. (2023). Direct Air Capture. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Direct-Air-Capture-Big-Oils-Latest-Smokescreen-November-2023.pdf

Chicago

Pace, Barnaby, and Lindsay Fendt. Direct Air Capture. Center for International Environmental Law, 2023. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Direct-Air-Capture-Big-Oils-Latest-Smokescreen-November-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pace |first1=Barnaby |last2=Fendt |first2=Lindsay |title=Direct Air Capture |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=November 2023 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Direct-Air-Capture-Big-Oils-Latest-Smokescreen-November-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pace2023direct, author = {Pace, Barnaby and Fendt, Lindsay}, title = {{Direct Air Capture}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Direct-Air-Capture-Big-Oils-Latest-Smokescreen-November-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }