Stop Giving Big Oil a Carbon Fig Leaf

The text contends that industrial carbon removal is energy-intensive, often counterproductive if powered by renewables, and frequently used for enhanced oil recovery to increase emissions. It further argues that these technologies fail to address the health impacts of fossil fuel pollution and provide a 'PR lifeline' to companies like Occidental Petroleum and Exxon-Mobil to avoid phasing out oil production.

• Industrial carbon removal is highly energy-intensive and can be counterproductive; if powered by carbon-free energy, it creates an opportunity cost by diverting energy that could have displaced coal- and gas-powered electricity to reduce emissions more effectively.
• Carbon capture projects often employ 'enhanced oil recovery' to extract more oil, effectively using government subsidies, such as the 45Q tax credit which pays $60 per captured ton, to increase emissions.
• Industrial carbon capture does not mitigate the non-greenhouse gas air pollution from fossil fuels, which causes an estimated 8.7 million premature deaths annually, and instead provides a 'greenwashing boost' that allows the industry to continue operating.

APA

Foley, J. (2023). Stop Giving Big Oil a Carbon Fig Leaf. Project Drawdown. https://drawdown.org/insights/stop-giving-big-oil-a-carbon-fig-leaf

Chicago

Foley, Jonathan. Stop Giving Big Oil a Carbon Fig Leaf. Project Drawdown, 2023. https://drawdown.org/insights/stop-giving-big-oil-a-carbon-fig-leaf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Foley |first1=Jonathan |title=Stop Giving Big Oil a Carbon Fig Leaf |publisher=Project Drawdown |date=16 August 2023 |url=https://drawdown.org/insights/stop-giving-big-oil-a-carbon-fig-leaf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{foley2023stop, author = {Foley, Jonathan}, title = {{Stop Giving Big Oil a Carbon Fig Leaf}}, publisher = {Project Drawdown}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://drawdown.org/insights/stop-giving-big-oil-a-carbon-fig-leaf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }