The great mystery of the Pathways carbon capture project: Who's going to pay for it?
The 'Pathways' carbon capture project in Alberta's oilsands faces scrutiny over its funding model and environmental efficacy. Critics argue that the project, which has significantly scaled back its carbon reduction targets, serves as a 'fig leaf' for the industry rather than a genuine climate solution.
Why it matters
The project represents a major test case for the role of carbon capture technology in the energy transition and the extent of public versus private responsibility for industrial emissions.
The initiative — now called the Oil Sands Alliance — brought together five major companies that account for almost all production in Alberta's oilsands in an effort to tackle emissions. Their major carbon capture project aimed to transport CO2 from about 20 oilsands facilities and store it permanently underground in a new hub near Cold Lake, Alta.
It was a social licence of sorts — the oilsands could keep pumping oil but put some money toward capturing the carbon they were emitting in the process.
But four years later, the carbon capture project (which is still called Pathways) has become increasingly nebulous in terms of both environmental impact and who is even paying for it.
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