Poster's note: decent summary, albeit with a clear political agenda ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Geoengineering Monitor <i...@geoengineeringmonitor.org> Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2020, 11:00 Subject: March: Congress, Microsoft Moves, Why Carbon Capture is Harmful, & more To: Andrew Lockley <andrew.lock...@gmail.com>
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=march_newsletter&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=march_newsletter&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=march_newsletter&n=3> Greetings! We hope this update finds you safe during this global health crisis. The COVID-19 crisis echoes the climate crisis in important ways, within a much shorter time frame. Movements are already mobilizing to prevent multi-trillion-dollar bailouts from focusing solely on asset funds and transnational corporations; the usual beneficiaries of crisis situations. Workers, migrants and the most vulnerable – the victims of an agenda of deep cuts to welfare states and globalization of supply chains as well as of the COVID-19 pandemic – are left out of the bailout largesse. Geoengineering plays a similar role with the climate crisis. After years of industry-funded climate denial and delays, geoengineering is the option that will keep the fossil fuel extractors in business, by allowing them to keep extracting. As governments come to terms with the scale of the climate crisis, the pathway out of climate chaos is still being debated and contested. Geoengineers are busy building a panic button that will keep fossil fuel extraction going, through the false promise of technologies that could theoretically cool the planet by blocking the sun or sucking carbon out of the atmosphere. The United States Congress recently passed a bill <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=bw4k6r6DbRUF8a7gWEWImSB07bLusSCpSOKOIw4raXwRZwMTGzcH-kOIkcq54TrqCpE8zUom4DGAbswWm7IOWy6jMCk_NjRIm5d9IV-SqlGmMPxs9I6mMiBYRWQES43ONXfSrgS-KgCgWu7TWnfqqg&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=4> that includes $1.47 billion for large-scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects and $367 million for Direct Air Capture research. Most alarmingly, $4 million was allocated to activities including solar geoengineering experiments <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=-XI-Saqv8TLp-YHcWfGDqqvQmnETgMUgUOM-JctWcqWCzY_nq0VWPGeg8Mlan-lmIQxnGek61yZ_7UGu6Q1o1KiuhuNNK7L6ZChqujqW1hUnKEE_fV9r3cmo64PTuTAaanKiSyzV6HjKl_bGNaQ96IWIimojiO8e613f44k8GRIV3_2vmhs2zGyfRhq9yQppZwGfK3AkKWjQzW_wPYqeI7PGUQPpQUXsUpwalBIVDgs_5ZdJUB9I-vmTgjfLp2nE&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=5> . Following in US footsteps, the United Kingdom’s parliament allocated <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=BNoTD7JjArcUYYoplN43w4fkehfHX7W3qssJuFEEI0DVRteVn2OtGR3R8s0oi460hwjCnBQkqqPuxoynIogYTCFNv0G5IrDl9ysKRvtPF9g&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=6> £800 million for two CCS “clusters”. Corporations are also investing in CCS. Microsoft recently committed to offsetting all of the company’s carbon emissions <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=6NS2bKpYnMmDAAaH_sla5_hOusmZ2erKixFLDV-pJeHIIREFVYBc7NyNngGbX5gK9c-jelPRLIevq9Vuj3nLjmf1ZUayiEEy4svxWaF5IK7ypPr1ODpv8nLhEA0wgb7b_Os7mIkUzmp0YtvytdHTh9ytmyhpfdY1_1vP1U3r0r0&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=7> since its founding in 1975 through a mix of measures including CCS. Even BP has declared its intention to go “net zero” (though analysis casts doubts <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=9L1CMThKjNiLcA2RVWlT5SPWvXAGB_LzZXPvWXYSl7yiqBA5y2MXTX74_i9nDeHd8dd7fk1QeXIMTAj11bYmMsCQIojDHkyfx5hYokoph-Q&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=8> on the company’s sincerity). Meanwhile the CEO of BlackRock, which holds $7.4 trillion in assets and has invested in carbon capture boondoggle Drax <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=Y5JdnM5RfbI0hgJ3c5Jt5QWGn6wtkh6KmvPCBcwlbt8IWy92kHFuPk7RnfeFJYzwfH-crKy_eSBlW9IoI1JpXWYhtcNO3DKxdVh0cwsmJU8&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=9>, said in a letter <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=KgQO9nkwu7Mt-pFgKneeXj9RMF1pwKCL5diBjNRO_w37-i5c43N2LCB3qHUM5cxNd74ZxH4EqICUBd3GQ15lpQ&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=10> that “governments and the private sector must work together,” to lower emissions, though remained vague on specific measures. *Carbon Capture is Ineffective and Harmful at Scale* Because Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is quickly gaining funding and corporate backing, we put together a list of seven key reasons why CCS is not a solution to the climate crisis <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWncmuWLPXu9jA1dALHV0lWbpbkwJtvgGtuX2jfGSysC_FPbjDd56hlwGBHOIBPV9xzGB0rKr23aySd6X0Y2-ZnErish30rmpuLS8hYOymRu4Hw&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=11> . 1. Carbon capture buys time for fossil fuel companies to continue extracting 2. Carbon often ends up back into the atmosphere, or creates new pollution 3. It’s an expensive use for money that’s better spent reducing emissions at the source 4. It diverts renewable energy to keep the fossil fuel treadmill going 5. Carbon capture increases the power and profits of the fossil fuel industry 6. Carbon capture paves the way for dangerous solar geoengineering 7. The global opportunity for a different path Read the whole thing here <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWncmuWLPXu9jA1dALHV0lWbpbkwJtvgGtuX2jfGSysC_FPbjDd56hlwGBHOIBPV9xzGB0rKr23aySd6X0Y2-ZnErish30rmpuLS8hYOymRu4Hw&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=12> . *From Carbon Suck to Sun Block: SCoPEx inches forward* SCoPEx, the main attempt to create facts on the ground for solar geoengineering, is run by David Keith, who is also an entrepreneur in Direct Air Capture, a type of Carbon Dioxide Removal geoengineering. SCoPEx has been quiet since it recruited an advisory board aimed at legitimizing its efforts, which violate international moratoria on geoengineering experiments. However, Keith has continued to promote his plans to test solar geoengineering, probably somewhere in the American southwest. He recently posed with a propeller <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=8P05HrdFbe8bW3QxKJOngMGYuXAiILbSj8GkkZyomIKbY7U0lMQGf1ytRZTDixtDRPx29xqO8txJWpG9aJpp_Bkx_yzPTuDYO9DfsjpJkUvh-dU-hKBr2EAJTEioYZAZcZH_syJmAka0cqAR4FpZ6lYIHDsN3RdFT4MI_nt0d1Q&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=13> from the self-propelling gondola that they plan to use to spray various substances into the upper atmosphere, and taking time to argue about <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=zknsI8pcSlWeZ2MxAO0HgM-VPOs0yvOLyLOoRBuxxqOSS6OPXWxnfRnhuDWEvV-VXGdJN9vDfR8ovWw55CKryvdT2JtBEP9RX_JLtVmuiitsYIyN6iU2CEfr0RWHEPhfhhv6tiE8yS31S4SS_2gjtw&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=14> the environmental effects of solar geoengineering for Canada’s national broadcaster. In August, 31 civil society groups from five continents wrote to the advisory committee, asking them to respect the international moratoria <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWndVsjTUB_m7J6hLhtlvKXurjb2pa5SXv5iY4No7t1Pal-TM6hVxDk0yZuDth0ERX1o&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=15> currently in place. So far, none have said they will do so. *New Doubts on Ocean Fertilization* New research from MIT suggests <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=uwz--OgZKqx2y2MTdElHOeweZwejsOmLRgg3iSAB57SmhQIjh1lPx4CtbMROwTunvFfIhshaTDCQCfUiS-ErX5-UaZuHgrmUEELvssXMR14&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=16> that iron levels in oceans globally have been fine-tuned by evolution to be at optimal levels to support life, and draws the conclusion that ocean fertilization might not actually result in any carbon being stored. The report’s lead author said that according to their framework, “iron fertilization cannot have a significant overall effect on the amount of carbon in the ocean because the total amount of iron that microbes need is already just right.” Previous critiques <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWndgVWCVtUszLKLiBXXTIBdKfy-SKCPeJ7pFWIfWQFAUPy23GUr6U49ABNKHhbqd-aA&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=17> have suggested that ocean fertilization could simply rob nutrients from plankton growth that would normally have happened down-current, and that the process could create deoxygenated “dead zones” that could be dangerous for sea life and the ocean food web. *Is California Flirting with Geoengineering, or Going Steady?* Last fall, leaked documents revealed that the ISO standards organization was working on a new standard for “radiative forcing <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWnc7VHqU5DA0YKMeGsC273FVjngWb8XekLm5GOUq6xoWBh2X3by4ir8YTzLTrgm_NnpM1G49uYywjwBsJ42RT6Nj&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=18>” – altering the amount of heat retained by the atmosphere – which appeared to imply the potential for a market that could incentivize some forms of geoengineering. Concurrently, legislation covering radiative <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=W5yNiaZcL5MrQVneI4feT5PWC0ugUR-6gkqWRNVFWnfPCgJgIlzZxdWRmOznGHZ9zdvD_zPLF16kWPPfeIgPgHZSfBO96acwct9cjwCQ3b0xsvtwkZnbXCVPUwapKBRn01e03iWLR9--NdmE7yH-rw&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=19> forcing was proposed in the California State legislature. The early draft of the legislation made explicit reference to the ISO’s then-secret proposal. In any case, the bill stalled in committee early this year, and is likely to expire. Another bill up for debate soon in California this year sneaks in encouragement of so-named “Carbon Dioxide Removal” technologies under legislation that is nominally about expanding forests. Meanwhile, the chair of the SCoPEx advisory committee is a California State employee who reports to the governor. We will be keeping an eye on the state government as California gets ready to reveal the official status of its relationship to geoengineering. *DAC Infrastructure Requires Subsidies* A recent article <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=V_evWFfboJ9d7eeTw2-q0WSPlQiRcw_t7Ll0F5O2FI017S0vjUIG5UFh9ByimLy-2nP6bhs7e-ru7X2DTQtTzg&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=20>, supportive of Direct Air Capture, suggests that vast subsidies for new infrastructure will be required. Writing for the Breakthrough Institute, the author explains that for DAC efforts to scale up would require a vast network of pipelines, up to 23,000 additional miles, to move the CO2 around. It goes on to conclude that vast subsidies and government planning will be needed to set up this infrastructure: “Although the need for new CO2 infrastructure can be reduced somewhat — by developing DAC facilities near either storage basins or other sources of captured carbon such major industrial centers — it can’t be eliminated. And as with all large infrastructure systems, building it will require considerable government funding and planning.” (See also our summary of recent DAC plans <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=march_newsletter&n=21> .) *Biochar Record Still Mixed* After their 2011 evaluation of the much-hyped, subsidy-seeking biochar proposals, our colleagues at BioFuelWatch reviewed the last nine years of scientific literature <http://action.etcgroup.org/r?u=Y5JdnM5RfbI0hgJ3c5Jt5QWGn6wtkh6KmvPCBcwlbt_JOYnDnEvNnqWU7cRAiZgtLmT_wpZqXm1BQbCHAioVvAdRrMIvOOd6m-tdpPJsgX-ZDnAFMKv2acxdKAsAUnt3&e=3a804b4344e061bc35eced0440e3a83f&utm_source=etcgroup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=march_newsletter&n=22> on the would-be geoengineering technology. Their findings remained much the same: results of even short-term studies of mixing biochar in soil found widely variable results when it comes to sequestering carbon. Results appear to be dependent on specific soil conditions, which are not necessarily well-understood. You're receiving this because andrew.lock...@gmail.com 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=march_newsletter&n=23>. 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