Susannah Pierce posted a defence of the technology on LinkedIn, saying Shell’s Quest facility, for example, “will enable the next wave of CCS projects” to be built at lower costs and with ever-increasing efficiency. (The Logic)

Talking point: Pierce’s comments are the latest salvo in the debate over whether Canada should use public funds to support carbon-capture, -utilization and -storage (CCUS) projects. Last week, a group of more than 400 academics and scientists urged Ottawa to reject the technology, saying it was unproven, costly, and would deepen Canada’s reliance on fossil fuels. Some media reports have suggested the nascent technology does not actually capture as much as companies claim. Oil and gas companies say the technology is critical to meeting Ottawa’s climate targets, and the International Energy Agency recommended that Canada make CCUS a priority in driving down emissions. The federal government is currently consulting on a potential new tax credit that would subsidize the development of CCUS projects, which tend to cost billions.