The term CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) was on more Canadian lips last week than ever before, and for good reason. As one of the long list of conditions that Alberta must comply with to obtain the much-desired oil pipeline to the northern coast of B.C., the province has to commit to a massive and expensive project of carbon capture. In fact, if undertaken, it will be among the largest carbon capture projects on the planet. So what is CCUS, anyway, and why should it matter?
CCUS is a combination of technologies which capture carbon dioxide from industrial facilities or even out of the air, therefore removing it from the atmosphere and reducing emissions. The captured carbon is then stored permanently underground or used to make other products such as building materials, cement, fertilizers or other chemicals.
In Canada, the Pathways Alliance has been championing CCUS with a proposed $16.5-billion project for several years. The Pathways Alliance is comprised of the largest oil sands producers in Canada. The Alliance’s undertaking of this project is because it is presumed to be needed as a trade-off in achieving a pipeline to tidewater, likely off the B.C. coast. The CCUS initiative is viewed as essential to “decarbonizing” oil sands production. Critics have compared the notion of “decarbonizing” oil to producing water that is not wet.
Both the federal and Alberta governments have expressed support for this plan and are offering various tax and other incentives to encourage its implementation. This project is deemed essential if Canada is to meet its targets for CO2 emission reduction by 2030 of 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. However, Canada is not currently on track to meet the 2030 goal, let alone that for 2050.
There are many critics of the entire CCUS process from a number of standpoints. Many climate scientists in recent years have been questioning the whole issue of whether CO2 is actually the impetus for climate change and state that attempting to reduce CO2 emissions is a pointless goal that will simply waste billions of corporate and taxpayer dollars that could be better spent. Instead of investing in schemes to try and reduce emissions, some experts such as Bjorn Lomberg have recommended spending scarce funds to assist in adapting to climate change instead of trying to change the climate, which has to date proven futile. Lomberg recently convinced Bill Gates that his approach was superior and changed Gates’ perspective on the issue.
Climate change alarmists oppose CCUS because they believe it will merely give fossil fuel companies a license to produce more CO2 and will delay the necessary, in their opinion, complete conversion to other energy sources such as wind and solar. Other opponents claim that the results of a CCUS project do not justify the massive expense involved.
In the Canadian context, another fact to keep in mind when considering the Alberta CCUS project is that Brookfield, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s former employer, invested $300 million in a company called Entropy, which is a carbon capture technology company. In 2023, the Canadian government invested $200 million in Entropy from the Canada Growth Fund. Conservatives have introduced a motion to require Carney to divest from financial interests that may present a situation where government decisions serve to personally enrich the government decision-makers.
The Canadian Parliament’s ethics rules are notoriously lax, and Carney has been noticeably touchy whenever the topic of his personal investments comes up in the media or elsewhere. Given the large amount of taxpayer dollars Carney’s government plans to spend on various infrastructure projects in which Brookfield has interests, such as modular homes, AI and energy including CCUS, among others, concerns about Carney’s conflicts of interest should be addressed in short order.
Should the massive Alberta CCUS project go forward, the real concern to average Canadians should be the cost and whether it is worth the return on investment. Some Canadian oil companies consider the project worthless as they believe it is only being proposed to appease the climate change adherents in the federal government and not because it will accomplish anything meaningful. At this stage, the CCUS project is a key part of the “deal” reached between Alberta and the federal government to permit a pipeline to the West Coast. Politics, economics, energy prices and other variables will be factors as to whether it will go ahead or remain a pipe dream.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
