Shell Canada Removes "Net-Zero" Claims From Website, Edits Environmental Claims
Shell Canada has deleted a “net-zero” goal by 2050 from its website. The description of Shell’s Quest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project was edited in recent weeks, and no longer includes the heading “Achieving Net Zero by 2050.” That language appeared on Shell Canada’s website as recently as June 18, according to the Internet Archive.
Shell further removed the phrase “Shell’s target is to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, and we know that our business plans need to change to make this happen.” The company also replaced the term “lower-carbon fuels” with “alternative fuels” in a paragraph that formerly read “Our priority is to avoid emissions, for example by adopting solutions that are emissions-free when used. When this is not possible, we work to reduce emissions, for example by making use of lower-carbon fuels and technologies like CCS.”
EDIT
Shell Canada’s website on June 18, 2024. Credit: Web.Archive.org
DeSmog previously reported that the Pathways Alliance — a consortium of Canadian tarsands producers — had scrubbed their website of all content on June 19, 2024. Pathways’ website previously stated that “the path to net zero begins with carbon capture.” In the days that followed, several Canadian oil and gas companies, as well as the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, and a third-party pro-oil advertiser called Canada Action, had all removed pages from their websites or significantly modified language concerning carbon capture, LNG, and the oil and gas sector’s environmental goals.
‘PR Fig Leaf’
Carbon capture and storage technology has until recently been championed by Canada’s oil producers, and continues to be championed by Canadian government officials. Canadian environment minister Steven Guilbeault recently lauded a new carbon capture project funded through the Canada Growth Fund, stating such government-funded carbon capture efforts would “build a cleaner economy and a more sustainable future.”
There is little evidence suggesting carbon capture is an effective climate change mitigation tool. The technology has been described as a “PR fig leaf” and a “scam.” Carbon capture was originally called “enhanced oil recovery” and was used to extend the serviceable lifespans of otherwise derelict oil wells. The technology has been criticized as a greenwashing effort used to mask continued emissions-intensive oil production, as much as an inefficient use of financial resources that might otherwise be used for decarbonization of the energy grid.
EDIT
https://www.desmog.com/2024/07/17/shell-canada-drops-2050-climate-goal-from-website/