Shell is accused of selling "phantom carbon credits (Photo: iStock)
Energy giant Shell is accused of selling "phantom carbon credits" through a Canadian carbon capture project, which not only generated an additional revenue of 200 million Canadian dollars (about 140 million USD) but captured only half of the amount claimed publicly.
Greenpeace Canada's latest report "Selling Hot Air" reveals that Shell obtained "hidden subsidies" from Alberta's carbon capture program between 2015 and 2021. This involved receiving two carbon credits for every ton of carbon captured and selling the equivalent of 5.7 million tons of "non-existent" carbon credits.
“Selling emissions credits for reductions that never happened is the worst kind of hot air, because it literally makes climate change worse,” says Keith Stewart, Greenpeace Canada’s senior energy strategist.
Chevron, Canadian Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips, Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy were among the largest buyers of the credits.
According to data obtained by environmental groups, the Quest project located in Edmonton City, Alberta, was commissioned in 2015. It is currently Canada's first and only carbon capture facility in the oil sands industry.
The report indicates that since its operation, the Quest project has received approximately 777 million Canadian dollars (about 568 million USD) in subsidies from the federal and provincial governments. When factoring in the value of the "phantom carbon credits," this amounts to Canadian taxpayers covering 93% of the project's costs.
“This was all legal, but that doesn’t make it right,” adds Stewart. “Those who have polluted and profited the most must be held accountable.
The controversy over Shell's phantom carbon credits has deepened public concerns about the high cost of carbon capture. In early May, the independent Canadian power producer, Capital Power, announced a cancelation of its 2.4 billion USD carbon capture project in Edmonton, citing low economic viability.
The Canadian environmental group Environmental Defence believes that carbon capture is unnecessary, ineffective, and costly. They argue that the most effective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is to avoid generating them in the first place, rather than extracting them from the air or smokestacks and injecting them underground.
