The risks of offshore carbon capture and storage

Text by: Lisa Tostado

| December 2023

A new report by the Center for International Environmental Law1 explores the risks associated with sub-seabed carbon dioxide storage and reveals the global increase in proposals to pool CO₂ waste in offshore hubs.

The world’s oceans are already struggling from the impacts of climate change and the damage of polluting offshore oil and gas installations. Instead of addressing these stressors by phasing out fossil fuels, big polluters are compounding them by turning the seabed into a storage site for their CO₂ waste. CIEL’s report found:

Unprecedented growth of offshore CCS: As of mid-2023, over fifty new offshore CCS projects have been announced worldwide, potentially leading to more than a 200-fold increase in annual CO₂ injection beneath the seabed.
Serious feasibility and safety concerns: Many proposed projects seek to pool CO₂ from multiple sources in subsea storage hubs, an untested approach. Until now, global experience with offshore CCS is very limited, based on just two projects in Norway. Both of those projects encountered unpredicted problems, highlighting the complexity and unpredictability of offshore CCS, and raising questions about its risks.
Covering up fossil fuel expansion: Some offshore CCS projects mask expanded fossil fuel production and use, hindering the transition to cleaner energy sources.
Uncalculated risks: Injecting CO₂ under the seabed poses uncalculated risks like seismic activity and toxic brine displacement. Additionally, proposed CCS storage hubs concentrate in areas with legacy oil and gas wells, increasing the risk of CO₂ leakage.
Pressure on oceans: Offshore CCS perpetuates the exploitation of our oceans, which are already in crisis from climate change and decades of oil and gas production. Leaks and other accidents could pose major hazards to sensitive marine organisms and add to the ocean acidification crisis.
Enormous public subsidies: Offshore CCS is a costly endeavour that is heavily dependent on government subsidies. Government support for offshore CCS diverts significant public funds away from proven solutions and towards polluters.
Legal bulwarks and gaps: Existing national and international laws can help put the brakes on risky offshore CCS projects and protect the oceans, communities, and the climate. Evolving CCS-specific regulations must be strengthened to prevent harm. In many jurisdictions, there are still questions regarding who bears the long-term liability and costs for CO₂ storage wells.
Decades of CCS failures: CCS projects have repeatedly fallen short of capture targets and encountered financial and technical hurdles, raising doubts about their feasibility and safety.

Lisa Tostado

Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

1 https://www.ciel.org/reports/deep-trouble-the-risks-of-offshore-carbon-c...

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