The Carbon Capture Con

Carbon capture tax credit 45Q has been dramatically expanded despite its failure to deliver results, with total costs potentially reaching $800 billion. This represents an enormous taxpayer liability for a technology that consistently underperforms while enriching oil, gas, and ethanol industries through backdoor subsidies.

• 10 out of 13 major carbon capture facilities have failed or underperformed
• Companies self-report emissions reductions with no EPA verification or accountability
• CCS developers are claiming common carrier status to seize private land through eminent domain
• The tax credit has increased to $180 per ton, including for carbon used in enhanced oil recovery
• Pipeline leaks have caused hospitalizations and pose risks to groundwater
• US Department of Energy is withdrawing $3.7 billion in funding for carbon capture projects.

Chapters

• 0:00 Podcast Introduction
• 0:37 Tax Credit 45Q Expansion
• 1:13 Carbon Capture's Dismal Track Record
• 2:24 Oil Recovery and Industry Profits
• 4:15 Safety Risks and Recent Failures
• 5:37 Funding Cuts and Conclusion

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

If you're suspicious that this climate change stuff may be exaggerated or just total BS, you've come to the right place. Welcome to the Climate Change Hoax Podcast With your host, carl Michael. Here you'll learn the truth about the deceivers who want you to believe we can actually control the weather. We cannot. The real goal is to control you. This is the Climate Change Hoax.

Speaker 2: 0:37

How in the hell did this carbon capture tax credit 45Q get increased? Instead of ending the stupid thing, which would have been the right thing to do, credit 45Q get increased. Instead of ending the stupid thing, which would have been the right thing to do, congress expanded it. The original projected cost was $30 billion over the next decade. The latest expansion adds $14 billion more and independent estimates put the full cost as high as $800 billion. Now that's a huge liability for the American taxpayer for a technology with a dismal track record.

Speaker 2: 1:13

At the start of Season 3, in Episode 47, I talked about one of these carbon capture companies, climeworks, and why they are now cutting staff. Additionally, a study of 13 major carbon capture facilities discovered that 10 either failed or underperformed, just like our buddies over at Climeworks. The Institute of Energy, economics and Financial Analysis says this, and I quote Not one single CCS project has ever reached its target CO2 capture rate, but taxpayers are told this technology is going to save the planet, so just keep picking up the tab. Not only does CCS not work, the 45Q program operates with zero oversight. Companies self-report emissions reductions with no EPA verification or caps on subsidies, no auditing, no accountability, just billions in tax credits being issued based on unverified claims. Ccs developers are also claiming common carrier status to justify seizing private land, using eminent domain to take land and over the objections of the owners. This piracy enriches private developers, not the public. Now, that is a betrayal of trust.

Speaker 2: 2:50

This 45Q tax credit increases to 180 bucks per ton for all uses, including captured carbon used for enhanced oil recovery. Okay, carl, what's enhanced oil recovery? Well, it's a technique used by the oil industry for decades to squeeze more oil from aging fields. Most of these carbon capture and storage projects are being backed by the oil, gas and the ethanol industries. Now, these guys used to fund their own oil recovery, you know, as part of normal operations, a cost of doing business. But now, with this 45Q tax credit as a backdoor subsidy, they can get the added bonus of taxpayer support. Can you say insane profits? And where's all the outrage from the climate wackos who hate big oil? Look, using captured CO2 for oil recovery purposes makes some sense, assuming it's made safe.

Speaker 2: 3:49

But claiming sucking CO2 out of the air to stop global warming is a deception, a scam. It's a hoax. And storing CO2 underground to appease the climate wackos is a huge risk to public safety. Leaks from CCS wells in Illinois have raised concerns about groundwater contamination, and listen to this story. In 2020, a pipeline located in a small town 30 miles from Jackson, mississippi, had two huge leaks. One rupture, caused by a mudslide, forced 200 residents to evacuate and at least 45 people were hospitalized. Emergency crews found people passed out, disoriented and struggling to breathe. One man who was fishing with family members near the leak said this they found me, my cousin and my brother unconscious, foaming at the mouth. They thought we were dead.

Speaker 2: 4:52

Now ask yourself this question Is capturing and storing CO2 to fight global warming a useless idea? Maybe not. Not if you put a dollar sign in front of it. Companies like Climeworks, using CO2 as the culprit for global warming, are selling the idea of storing it on your behalf for a fee. On your behalf for a fee. Ironically, the technology they used to extract CO2 was borrowed from the oil and gas industry. Well, thanks to President Trump, the US Department of Energy is walking back $3.7 billion in funding for carbon capture and other emissions reduction technologies. The DOE terminated 24 Biden administration's awards after determining the projects were economically stupid and, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, these projects failed to advance the energy needs of the American people Bottom line. Man-made climate change is a hoax and CO2 capture is just the latest scam. Cheers.