BIOENERGY WITH CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE (BECCS) – BECCS is the process of eliminating the excess of atmospheric CO2 causing the greenhouse effect. BECCS consists of first producing energy by means of biomass combustion, and then, with the help of industrial machinery, absorbing CO2 to reinject it in carbon sinks such as soil and the ocean. This process is another tool proposed by corporations in their so-called fight against global warming.
For organisations which promote climate justice, BECCS is a costly distraction, deemed to be inauthentic and hazardous and also diverting the attention to the real and drastic reduction of emissions urgently needed to avoid the climate crisis.
Fossil fuel corporations have tried to introduce this proposal as a magic formula to approach climate change seeking revenue opportunities from the destruction of our ecosystems and communities. Having gained government support, these firms are heavily investing in this type of geoengineering of questionable efficacy or flawed and risky technology instead of venturing into green energy in favour of energy sovereignty or pursuing other paths to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (e.g. leave fossil fuels where they belong to and stop extractivism)–what is truly needed to halt the climate emergency.
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