Northern Lights goes into operation

The inauguration of the CO₂ transport and storage facility "Northern Lights" in Øygarden near Bergen was celebrated by many as a milestone in the fight against climate change. However, there are also critical voices that see the project as a possible whitewashing campaign by the major oil companies Shell and TotalEnergies. They argue that the plant will not have a decisive impact on global CO₂ emissions and will therefore only marginally slow down climate change.

Greenwashing instead of real change?

The companies involved present Northern Lights as an innovative project to reduce greenhouse gases. Critics, however, suspect that this is greenwashing - a strategy in which companies highlight environmental initiatives in order to distract attention from their environmentally harmful practices. By investing in carbon storage, Shell and TotalEnergies could be trying to burnish their image without fundamentally changing their core fossil fuel businesses.

Little impact on global emissions

With a storage capacity of 3.5 million tons per year, the plant does not seem small, but compared to global CO₂ emissions of over 35 billion tons per year, its contribution is marginal.

This becomes even clearer when you look at the increase in annual CO2 emissions from 2022 to 2023 alone: 404 million tons more CO2 were emitted in 2023 than in 2022. In comparison, the imminent storage of 3.5 million tons seems like a drop in the ocean.

This raises the question of whether such projects can actually have a significant impact on reducing global emissions or whether they merely serve as symbolic politics.

Distraction from sustainable solutions

Another point of criticism is that the focus on carbon capture and storage could distract from more sustainable solutions. Instead of investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency, resources could flow into expensive CCS technologies that do not solve the underlying problem. This could delay the transition to a low-carbon economy and prolong dependence on fossil fuels.

Focus on the interests of industry

The plant's industrial customers benefit from offshoring their emissions instead of decarbonizing their production processes. This could reduce the pressure to develop greener technologies and practices. While companies can embellish their sustainability reports by participating in Northern Lights, the actual climate benefits remain questionable.

Conclusion

The Northern Lights plant raises important questions about the effectiveness and motivation behind large-scale CCS projects. Without profound changes in energy policy and an increased focus on renewables, such initiatives could be more PR than problem solving. It is crucial to critically question whether projects like Northern Lights represent real progress or merely serve to maintain the status quo.