ProPublica: Secret 2005 UN Vote by Scientists Entrenched Carbon Capture in Climate Policy
An investigation finds a U.N. scientist panel in Oviedo, Spain, endorsed carbon capture despite thin evidence, legitimizing a technology that still hasn't scaled two decades later.
What to know
- ProPublica and Drilled reveal that a 2005 U.N. report legitimizing carbon capture followed a closed vote by scientists in Oviedo, Spain, amid pressure from oil-exporting nations.
- Evidence behind the report was thin: only one large-scale project, in the North Sea, had rigorously tested permanent CO2 storage, and early drafts called leakage-risk conclusions 'almost meaningless.'
- Two decades later, carbon capture and storage has not scaled up as the report implied, but its conclusions still underpin climate policy and industry arguments.
- The investigation argues the report's promises have proven difficult to retract even as the technology has underdelivered.
Sally Benson Geoscientist, Lawrence Berkeley National LabSaudi Arabia and other oil-exporting countries Lobbying governmentsUnited Nations Convener of the scientific panelProPublica / Drilled Investigative newsrooms
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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ProPublica and Drilled publish the Oviedo vote investigation
ProPublica, with Drilled, publishes an investigation by Katie Worth, Amy Westervelt and Maddie Stone detailing how the 2005 U.N. report's process and vote legitimized carbon capture and shaped decades of climate policy, and how its promises have been hard to walk back.
“A U.N. report concluded carbon capture could offset fossil fuels' effect on climate change. Two decades later, the process has failed to meaningfully scale up, and it's proving hard to take the promises back.”
— ProPublica -
1 outlet How a Secret Vote by U.N. Scientists Legitimized Carbon Capture and Skewed Decades of Climate Policy
first by ProPublica, 9d ago
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Saudi Arabia and other oil-exporting countries pressured the U.N. to write a report on carbon capture despite a lack of evidence. The industry saw the technology as a way to keep burning fossil fuels by simply burying the pollution underground. with @drilledmedia.bsky.social
2 more of the top 3 · 20 posts in this stretch
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REVEALED: How a Secret Vote by U.N. Scientists Legitimized Carbon Capture and Skewed Decades of Climate Policy https://www. propublica.org/article/carbon- capture-storage-fossil-fuel-sally-benson # UN # ClimateChange # ClimateCrisis # ClimateEmergency # GlobalWarming # Climate
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NEW: A U.N. report concluded carbon capture could offset fossil fuels’ effect on climate change. Two decades later, the process has failed to meaningfully scale up, and it’s proving hard to take the promises back. with @drilledmedia.bsky.social
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UN scientists finalize report in Oviedo after closed vote — More than 100 scientists convened in Oviedo, Spain, with Lawrence Berkeley geoscientist Sally Benson co-leading the storage chapter; the report, finished amid continuing uncertainty over leakage and monitoring, concluded carbon capture could offset fossil fuels' climate impact.
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Scientists clash over CCS report language at meetings worldwide — Before the final Oviedo session, scientists tasked with writing the report disagreed for years at meetings in Canada, Norway, Australia and Brazil, with only one large-scale experiment — a Norwegian North Sea project — having rigorously tested permanent CO2 storage.
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Oil-exporting nations push UN to commission CCS report — Saudi Arabia and other oil-exporting countries pressured the United Nations to write a report on carbon capture and storage despite scant supporting evidence, according to U.N. officials and records cited by the investigation.
What people are saying 16 voices from 2 sites · best of 20 · verbatim
- Nov 3
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If you want to know more about how there came to be this flaming gap between what our governments expect of CCS and what industry is delivering, read this story that I wrote for @propublica.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social!
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#CCS is a lie promoted by the fossil fuel industry to prolong acceptance of fossil fuel extraction and use. They knew it from the start, and funded scientists at prestigious universities to keep researching and fudging the figures. Read this groundbreaking report on the subject from @propublica.org
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It's not renewable energy. It's fast-track deforestation and mass acceleration of emissions, because #CCS and #BECCS are lies designed to prolong acceptance of fossil use. Take the time to read this definitive report from @propublica.org
- Nov 2
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"Burn it Afterward" A U.N. climate report legitimized carbon capture and storage, suggesting at least 99% of the CO2 would likely remain underground, despite scant empirical evidence. @propublica.org @drilledmedia.bsky.social @abrahm.bsky.social
- Nov 1
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Speaking of CCS, this fresh investigation by @propublica.org & @drilledmedia.bsky.social pulls back the curtain on early behind-the-scenes science diplomacy that gave carbon sequestration its veneer of legitimacy.
- Oct 31
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Scientists buffaloed into putting cosmetic gloss on dubious carbon capture methods at the behest of the fossil fuel industry. Squeamish reading for fans of scientists and scientific integrity but also a twisted form of climate myth correction. Despite climate change denier claims the IPCC is hardly the result of some kind of leftist plot but is in…
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this is pretty amazing journalism. and pretty sobering for those (Carney, Smith) advocating for CCS to solve our problems Must read for those who care about oil and gas/climate mitigation. "decarbonized oil" my ass.
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Carbon capture technology has been presented as a solution to offset our reliance on fossil fuels. But, collectively, the carbon capture projects operating today bury less CO2 each year than a single power plant can produce. with @drilledmedia.bsky.social
- Oct 30
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Truly great reporting on how we ended up relying on farcical amounts of carbon sequestration to balance the climate books. The scientists involved--oi, what shame
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It will perhaps not shock you to discover that the fossil fuel industry was instrumental in getting carbon capture & storage integrated as a serious mitigation mechanism into UN reports ... where it remains, despite decades of disappointing results.
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Climate folks: you don't want to miss this story! It's a stunning deep dive from @propublica.org into how serious problems with Carbon Capture and Storage were overlooked as the IPCC endorsed the emerging technology as an oil-friendly solution to climate change.
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The assumption that CCS will work at a scale at which it has never worked underpins much of the world's climate policy. The great @katieworth.bsky.social (w/ me & @themadstone.bsky.social) explains how that happened, for @propublica.org & @drilledmedia.bsky.social
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Incredible work from @katieworth.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy @amywestervelt.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy and @themadstone.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy on how unproven carbon capture and storage (CCS) came to be legitimized. Popular CO₂ removal (CDR) methods, bioenergy w/CCS (BECCS) and direct ocean removal, also rely on CCS actually being a thing. How a…
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Major story from @drilledmedia.bsky.social and @propublica.org. This is the troubled foundation of decades of climate policy thinking, and the cracks are massive, and the gasses are seeping through.
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A tremendous piece by my colleague @katieworth.bsky.social, with additional reporting from @amywestervelt.bsky.social and myself: How a secret vote by UN scientists legitimized carbon capture and skewed decades of climate policy
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Your 'bonus moment of doom' for today: 320 gigatons. "When climate forecasters built models, their calculations assumed CCS would work. When governments and corporations began making so-called 'net zero' pledges ... they assumed CCS would work."