Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are the darling of the fossil fuel industry since CCS offers the opportunity to continue business-as-usual, with the support of foraminous government subsidies, while appearing to be green and gaining carbon price credits. But ALL projects to-date have failed to live up to emissions reduction expectations and are energy intensive. As such, CCS is a greenwashing narrative.
The environmental footprint of an electric vehicle represents a sectorial industrial revolution, including the first lifecycle end of an EV battery. With existing technologies, 95% of an EV battery can be recycled for inclusion in a new EV battery and/or energy storage. The remaining 5% can be handled by third party recyclers. Because the price of mined lithium is rising exponentially, recycled EV battery materials are set to compete with mined content. The result is massive investments underway and planned for EV recycling, especially in China and Europe. The U.S federal government is supporting EV battery recycling and there is a nascent industry in Canada. But there remains a colossal challenge for the Canadian national and provincial governments to assure Canada is a major player alongside China and Europe.
The global natural gas industry, including that of Canada, has high hopes for weaning Southeast Asia from coal dependency. Concurrently, low-cost renewables are swiftly changing the electrical power landscape in this part of the world. Vietnam, caught in the squeeze between the two competing types of power sources, is favouring a clean energy metamorphosis. The country now has the greatest installed solar energy capacity in Southeast Asia. Government policies are both supportive and handicaps. Grid infrastructure is woefully insufficient. International support is critical to solidify the transition to clean energy.
