More than 400 Canadian climate scientists and other academics are pleading with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to scrap her plan to create a tax credit for companies that build carbon capture and storage facilities.
In April 2021, Freeland floated the idea of a tax credit in last year’s budget, and in December, after discussions with Cenovus Energy Inc., Ottawa was almost ready to release details about its proposed tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage projects (CCUS).
Cenovus has also been encouraging Ottawa to make enhanced oil recovery projects eligible for the tax credit, something the government had originally ruled out.
A letter sent to Freeland dated January 19, asks her to ditch the idea altogether, calling it a massive subsidy to the oil and gas industry that directly contradicts Canada’s pledge to eliminate such subsidies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
University of Victoria geography and civil engineering professor Christina Hoicka is the lead signatory on the letter and said carbon capture and storage is expensive, unproven, and would prolong the use of fossil fuels rather than work toward replacing them with clean energy, according to the Financial Post.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) uses proven technologies that can prevent large quantities of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuels. CCS has been used successfully for close to 60 years.
But as Professor Hoicka points out, CCS does not halt the use of fossil fuels, and Freeland has clearly stated that only projects that permanently store the trapped carbon dioxide would be eligible, according to CBC Canada.
However, according to the Winnipeg Free Press, the letter says the academics want Freeman to go further and limit its use only to industries that have no other options for reducing emissions and not allow fossil fuel, plastic or petrochemical companies to qualify for it.
