They make working in geoengineering sound like being a James Bond baddie. If only it was that exciting...
Tracking updates are useful, though. A ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Geoengineering Monitor <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2019, 19:13 Subject: Summer recap: Continental Sacrifice, SCoPEx, & Direct Air Capture To: Andrew Lockley <[email protected]> Hi! You're signed up to the Geoengineering Monitor mailing list. You can unsubscribe <http://action.etcgroup.org/unsubscribe?e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=1>. If this was forwarded and you want to subscribe, click here <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=34YUjgpapoPt9EZv4PZRbW-dNDoMJeVPZReDmDGHLGgBNfbC4dhBuQW657DmC0rBPW7O-qfrjPvyxycFYpPTD28xJFLlhVDV1SuaWrfoodvwj42pPXbuvNaRJmcGLhE9&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=2> . [image: Geoengineering Monitor logo] <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWnexXNgcWItfT-Mdl7S1Mj8H&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=3> Andrew -- The geoengineering clique was busy over the summer. As new pressure from fossil fuel companies and the governments who support them once again make the case for geoengineering, here's a recap. *SCoPEx is a Trojan Horse for Normalizing Geoengineering* SCoPEx, writes Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group, is an obscure acronym that names a dangerous political maneuver. The project could set “a new and dangerous precedent for the unilateral implementation of geoengineering technologies by billionaires and vested interests.” “Indeed, as the Center for International Environmental Law and the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s recent report, *Fuel to Fire*, points out, fossil-fuel companies have been investing in geoengineering for decades. For Big Oil, the promise of a technological get-out-of-jail-free card is an ideal pretext for continuing their highly profitable, destructive activities.” » A Geoengineering Trojan Horse <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWndZelbxQt2Sakequ6LyhvNNmWooT2x-pKpW_Mq8x7skILjyzhyJS-LnXa_ctKM7WLg&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=4> *Enough with the False Climate Solutions!* Friends of the Earth International had some strong words for the governments of industrialized countries. “Unwilling to stand up to those who are destroying our planet,” writes chair Karin Nansen, “political leaders have latched onto technological solutions, including geoengineering approaches that promise to suck already-emitted carbon out of the atmosphere.” » Who Benefits from False Climate Solutions? <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=PZU23hx_LbfyyAY8PsDc1KApr0_LORV0irk48FYL7fkOjsQ1zHKLlmdmZRpQ-MJO6oGsH9tTcNk5VQ80HbwQ9_r9G7SkiS8nnb9Xdo461owOLW-_FC7UsfKSNSaK9ASbLWfSKU6_b5L2X8iAQXpKG19Ecr6v65Slv-_s9AN0zKE&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=5> *Open letter to SCoPEx* In an effort to gain social license for what would be precedent-setting geoengineering experiments, the Harvard-based leaders of SCoPEx recruited several advisors. Shortly after the announcement, 40 civil society groups from five continents sent the committee, all of whom are US-based, a letter calling out the hand-picked advisors for undermining democratic, public participation and undermining international efforts at precaution, governance and Free, Prior and Informed Consent. *“As those newly recruited to provide SCoPEx with legitimacy, you face a stark decision. Your current role legitimizes a project that furthers the interests of climate disrupting forces, such as the fossil fuels industry. We urge you to break your complicity with this path, and to withdraw your participation from the SCoPEx Advisory Committee.” –From the letter* » Open Letter to Scopex Advisory Committee <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWndVsjTUB_m7J6hLhtlvKXurjb2pa5SXv5iY4No7t1Pal-TM6hVxDk0yZuDth0ERX1o&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=6> *Direct Air Capture is expensive, wasteful, and well-funded (and other updates)* In July, we focused in on Direct Air Capture <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWndEKsMVE_zj55Xk6xhBd8kVmcpKXDiKwTtq0F-Jb_N6B9NwDNxZ2y-IQFIbwPnQZ_TX_wsDj1YV2COosttLls-fE3-8999yAXwuvI5HdQB9sA&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=7>. Even if it achieves the ambitiously low target prices for sucking carbon out of the air, the variety of techniques being developed use massive amounts of energy. Climeworks, for example, aims to capture 1% of the global annual CO2 emissions by 2025. The catch? Doing so would require the annual amount of electricity as three quarters of the 500 million people who live in the EU-28. And what happens when the carbon is captured? The most profitable use currently anticipated is the production of synthetic fuels, which would put carbon right back into the atmosphere – where it would need to be expensively and energy-intensively captured again. *Antarctica as sacrifice zone?* The latest thing to be put on the chopping block for the sake of continuing to burn fossil fuels is… Antarctica? Some otherwise esteemed researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research put forward a proposal to prevent sea level rise by creating trillions of tonnes of artificial snow and shooting them onto two west Antarctic glaciers. When we critiqued his proposal <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWndCaNnErUH8_SSoLsaLO70XGMRJDt3AjH7aohFQxLM_66x3elfEqleXvs-nGV7GOdyg9c6SSxHbjcHve-UknKIGQzpsEd-h-SwHZkiVZU8M6w_7x7kb6d9H4HbPgkaVApcwAZIf4OxZ0zo9HpH2glDl&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=8>, co-author Anders Levermann had this blunt response: The global media coverage that resulted from the non-proposal conveyed a different impression, but hopefully they will not make the mistake of normalizing geoengineering twice. *Ice on Fire* Leonardo DiCaprio has typically been a climate ally. The foundation that bears his name concluded the following in April of this year: There is only one explanation for why investors and fossil fuel companies continue to pour money into [carbon capture] – to keep the ailing fossil fuel industry alive, despite the fact that renewable energy is now cheaper and more reliable. However, a different crowd appears to be behind *Ice on Fire*, the visually stunning DiCaprio-produced documentary that unfortunately promotes several false solutions <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWneY0-OL_QZT62bYLq3BjOjWUbe0uvrMsOr05YJu4oTgpI28aH16Zdam0uwSImQaO0vi_i3WwXJD32MXNoCmnyDxU5i03PXsopQIzQl_3Gw-GQ&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=9>, including forms of geoengineering. *Drax Burns the Credibility of Carbon Capture… along with Wood Pellets and Coal* Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe might be momentarily confused, because here on earth, Drax <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWnfoL4V5sEWchBxMG8V9CE192bFLoweqMBhPyrnn_roB3JzLmTDqX_RCk-U3Q72l1UEsCm5lea5aKXsG98EQI0rFpWi3LJNaFOWxZ11iQT13_OheR8ae6z2GU6Zuakg8eug&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=10> is not a blue guy with muscles for brains. But the “Drax the Destroyer” monicker would seem to fit: the company is the world’s largest wood burner and at 17 million tonnes annually, the largest emitter of carbon in the United Kingdom. Onto that mess, Drax has been using carbon capture to apply a thin veneer of climate friendliness. It’s also eyeing bigger prizes: the deeply flawed concept of burning trees and growing new ones as a way to suck carbon out of the atmosphere (BECCS). All while receiving millions in subsidies from the UK government. » Policymakers Shouldn’t Trust Drax’s Bizarre Tree-burning Climate Solution <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWnfoL4V5sEWchBxMG8V9CE192bFLoweqMBhPyrnn_roB3JzLmTDqX_RCk-U3Q72l1UEsCm5lea5aKXsG98EQI0rFpWi3LJNaFOWxZ11iQT13_OheR8ae6z2GU6Zuakg8eug&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=11> *Tracking Geoengineering Projects* Our May update <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWneNZcE7kUUU65xsBjsIa0BBYsdg0MYWrodryMMRT207vxDx6LIV1gtYneLLxlM4wJR-wyj1syas628SxN944AxdjI6Bh5Jyvg-_vnjaujIt2y_Ucg9jAI6yQx0hD7CT-L_8GyeaFoEbZa7a127PiGrr&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=12> tracked a handful of carbon capture projects and proposed solar geoengineering experiments, including the entry of venture capitalists into the carbon capture space. In August <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWnfD-aQeFOgesWON_SLYNUJpiZJQb4NotlOz2uw3CSpMYKmdGYrSp1ejESJ6-zR6MIggM9Enmret5ek2Fl2jof9zcVxQVVMshZq8u5QspGSjC977KvtIAZN8K4KbY8URtIM&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=13>, we continued tracking several projects, including the attempted revival of carbon capture infrastructure in Rotterdam, and a cloud seeding project in India. You're receiving this because [email protected] was signed up to our mailing list. To stop receiving emails, click here <http://action.etcgroup.org/unsubscribe?e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=14>. You can also keep up with Geoengineering Monitor on Twitter <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=7Sn_jlQ3J2wHxMyMtp8UNNvVKaSCpj7_1e6IRXAUURU&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=15> or Facebook <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=27Ax0UmWOX2J8J_QwK9Z6lqbNjmIzGKI3G-z5iS6_YReNygcjtHUKfVzqHyFICIu&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=16> . Created with NationBuilder <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=SWqLExi-4iBlEOa5qgO58jA2d62deOsOLwOgchKDecY&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=september_update&n=17>, software for leaders. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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