We can’t “take the carbon out of the barrel” – Environmental Defence
For years in Canada, oil executives and some government officials
have put forward a grand vision of Canadian oil that could magically be
produced and consumed without producing any carbon emissions. The
short-hand language they use is “Taking the carbon out of the barrel.”
have put forward a grand vision of Canadian oil that could magically be
produced and consumed without producing any carbon emissions. The
short-hand language they use is “Taking the carbon out of the barrel.”
I
haven’t been to an energy conference in Canada in the last three years
without hearing someone selling that snake oil. It’s a clever piece of
rhetoric, never backed up with any evidence that oil companies are
making progress. Or that it’s even possible.
Because it’s not. Oil
is a hydrocarbon—literally made of carbon. When it’s burned, you get
carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas. Oil companies would
have to defy the laws of chemistry to produce oil that creates no carbon
emissions when burned.