The Pembina on carbon capture & sequestration

Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time laying out my objections to Jeffrey Sachs’ views on the use of technical solutions to our ever-growing need for energy. His support for carbon capture and sequestration, in order to allow us to exploit energy sources like coal, is especially irritating. There are two main reasons for this. First, the technology is unproven and has some significant barriers (for example, where will we put all of those megatons of carbon?). Second, focusing on a technical solution that may or may not work can siphon resources away from actions that will be effective, such as reducing our energy needs by improving home heating efficiency.

However, it’s nice not to be alone in one’s opinions. Not surprisingly, the Pembina Institute has a section of their website devoted to CCS:

Canadian federal and provincial governments have high expectations for carbon capture and storage technology as a tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, key questions about carbon capture and storage have yet to be resolved.

The Pembina isn’t out and out against CCS, but they do acknowledge the problem of ensuring that we allocate adequate resources to other emissions reduction strategies.

The page is not new, but contains a wealth of material on the subject, with a focus on the Canadian context. Worth following for updates.

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