Kerry Skeptical of Oil Firms' Claims That Tech Will Handle Greenhouse Gases

"UNITED NATIONS — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on Tuesday urged the world to be “very skeptical” about claims from oil and gas producers that emerging technology soon will allow people to adequately capture the climate-wrecking fumes emitted by their cars, planes and businesses.

It’s “one big question mark,” Kerry told The Associated Press of the future viability of carbon-capture technology, a debate at the heart of global negotiations on cutting emissions to stave off the most disastrous scenarios of global warming.

The International Energy Agency and increasing numbers of scientists, governments and global leaders and advocates are saying the only way to rein in climate change fast enough is to immediately stop drilling new oil and gas wells and sharply phase down existing drilling.

Many oil companies and oil states are fighting the calls for production cuts, saying that still-emerging carbon-capture technology will come to the rescue. The burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of global warming, and techniques to capture enough of the fumes to make a difference, affordably and efficiently, have yet to be developed."

Edith M. Lederer, Ellen Knickmeyer and Frank Jordans report for the Associated Press June 13, 2023.

Source: AP, 06/14/2023