HomeCarbon CreditsEnergy CEO Skeptical of Carbon Capture

Energy CEO Skeptical of Carbon Capture

Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel, a multinational Italian energy firm, isn’t so sure about carbon capture and storage.

He suggests that it is not a solution to the climate change crisis.

Carbon capture aims to stop CO2 from reaching the atmosphere by keeping it underground in geological formations, but Starace sees it differently.

We have tried and tried — and when I say ‘we,’ I mean the electricity industry,” Starace told CNBC.

You can imagine, we tried hard in the past 10 years — maybe more, 15 years — because if we had a reliable and economically interesting solution, why would we go and shut down all these coal plants [when] we could decarbonize the system?”

The fact is, it doesn’t work; it hasn’t worked for us so far,” he said. “And there is a rule of thumb here: If a technology doesn’t really pick up in five years — and here we’re talking about more than five, we’re talking about 15, at least — you better drop it.

Starace went on to say that there is one solution.

Basically, stop emitting carbon.”

Though Starace has not seen much success with carbon capture and storage within his own industry, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a role to play.

Like carbon offsets – carbon capture and storage should be used alongside new technologies that reduce carbon emissions, not just neutralize, or capture them.

The carbon offset industry continues to grow – and with COP26 leaders setting a global standard, experts believe it will be integral in helping companies meet increasing regulations.

Alongside Starace’s announcement, Enel has moved its net-zero target date from 2050 to 2040. They expressed a desire to exit coal generation by 2027 and gas by 2040.

Per Starace, “We’re saying we’re going to be zero carbon, which means we’re not going to emit carbon.”

Most Popular
LiquidPiston_Proof
LATEST CARBON NEWS

HSBC Commits $1B to Climate Tech Startups Going to Net Zero

HSBC has committed $1 billion to finance climate technologies including carbon dioxide removal globally, helping startups grow and scale their clean solutions. This aligns...

Scaling the Carbon Removal Industry: The Urgent Push for a Greener Future

An analysis by the carbon removal market platform CDR.fyi shows that only 0.5% or 32 companies with Science-based targets have bought durable carbon removal....

US Saw $213B Investment in Clean Technologies, Paving the Way for Net Zero

A new database tracking the progress of the U.S. toward its decarbonization journey showed that a total of $213 billion was invested in clean...

BASF’s New Plastic Additives Reduces CO2 Emissions by 60%

German chemical giant BASF announced the launch of the first biomass balanced plastic additives that can reduce a product's carbon footprint by up to...
CARBON INVESTOR EDUCATION

Carbon Pricing: Understanding The Economics and Trends of Fighting Climate Change

As global temperatures continue to rise, the urgency surrounding climate policies has intensified, thrusting carbon pricing into the limelight of climate discussions. The race to...

The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): Key Things to Know

Companies operating in the European Union will have to deal with new non-financial and sustainability reporting requirements starting January 2024 with the EU's Corporate...

Who Certifies Carbon Credits?

Anybody can say that they’re offsetting their carbon footprint and get financial support for it, which is good. But here’s another version of the...

An Introduction to Hydrogen Energy

These days, with the importance of furthering the fight against climate change, more and more different options are being explored. Making the transition to...