Shocked, Shocked!! ExxonMobil's Highly Touted UK "Carbon Capture" Plan More Commitment-Free Greenwashing
Motorists concerned about the impact on the planet of petrol and diesel cars may be comforted by Esso’s marketing campaign on “thoughtful driving”. One of its most eye-catching initiatives is a proposal to trap carbon dioxide at a vast oil refinery and petrochemical complex on the south coast and store it under the seabed of the English Channel. The oil refinery at Fawley, a village in Hampshire, is operated by the US firm ExxonMobil, Esso’s parent company. The oil firm says the scheme will mean drivers can “fill up with less impact” and make “a major contribution to the UK’s move to net zero”.
But now the oil giant faces allegations of greenwashing as an investigation by openDemocracy reveals that the project may never get off the drawing board. It hasn’t received a licence or government support, and the company has not committed any of its own money to build it. Paul Greenwood, Exxon’s UK boss, has said a 2030 target to complete a first phase of construction may be hit only “if you wave a magic wand”.
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Exxon has so far refused to commit its own money to build it and has instead focused investment on increasing diesel production at the refinery, spending £800m to produce an extra 6m litres a day. The refinery is already the largest in the UK and provides fuels for the equivalent of one in every five vehicles on Britain’s roads. Dustin Benton, policy director of the Green Alliance thinktank and a member of Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage Council, a government-appointed advisory body, said: “[Carbon capture and storage] is likely to be necessary to reach net zero, but the technology can’t be used as an excuse to carry on drilling oil and gas, or expanding the production of petrol and diesel.”
A spokesperson for the Solent Cluster claimed the Fawley project and other carbon capture and hydrogen projects in the area could secure 70,000 jobs. An Exxon spokesperson said the company was committed to playing a key role in the energy transition. “This transition takes time and is not a linear process, with pace and direction shaped by factors including technology advances, enabling policy, economy and public support.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/31/exxonmobil-accused-of-greenwashing-over-carbon-capture-plan-it-failed-to-invest-in