Carbon Dioxide
Table of Contents
Drivers of CO2 Pollution
CO2 (much like methane) are natural parts of Earth's cycles, however there has been a massive increase of production
The following are currently not organized by level of impact:
Energy Producers
Transit & Shipping
Food Production
Consumer Products
Tobacco & Cigarettes
"Every year the tobacco industry costs the world more than 8 million human lives, 600 million trees, 200 000 hectares of land, 22 billion tonnes of water and 84 million tonnes of CO2." - WHO
Crop Burning
Solutions
Emit Less Emissions
Scientists agree that we need to reduce emissions to a net zero, but any reduction is better than our current global trajectory.
The following are listed from greatest global impact to less impactful.
Transit Emissions
Building Emissions
Preserve Biodiversity
We need to preserve and protect what biodiversity we have left. We also need to restore damaged land and bodies of water so that they can go back to supporting healthy ecosystems.
Specifically, more biomass = more carbon storage.
The following are listed alphabetically at this time:
Fungi
“Soil ecosystems are being destroyed at an alarming rate through agriculture, development and other industry, but the wider impacts of disruption of soil communities are poorly understood. When we disrupt the ancient life support systems in the soil, we sabotage our efforts to limit global heating and undermine the ecosystems on which we depend.
“More needs to be done to protect these underground networks - we already knew that they were essential for biodiversity, and now we have even more evidence that they are crucial to the health of our planet.”
Oceans
Carbon Capture
At this time, carbon capture has not worked out despite having massive amounts of money thrown at it's development. Not only are some of the projects considered quite risky, but some have resulted in explosions. Right now experts warn that focusing on and overly relying on this so-far-failed method may detract funds that could be better used on already-proven carbon-reduction strategies.
Among the major issues:
"CCS costs range from $15 to $120 per metric ton of captured carbon depending on the emissions source, and DAC projects are even more expensive, between $600 and $1,000 per metric ton, because of the amount of energy needed to capture carbon from the atmosphere, according to the IEA." - Reuters
"Developers say they need a carbon price, either in the form of a carbon tax, trading scheme or tax break, that makes it profitable to capture and store the carbon. Without that, only carbon capture projects that increase revenue in a different way - like through increased oil output - are profitable." - Reuters
"Some CCS projects have also failed to prove the technology's readiness. A $1 billion project to harness carbon dioxide emissions from a Texas coal plant, for example, had chronic mechanical problems and routinely missed its targets before it was shut down in 2020, according to a report submitted by the project’s owners to the U.S. Department of Energy." - Reuters
"Despite billions of dollars in support, the initiatives mostly produced a series of failures – projects that either failed to ever get off the ground or those that were quickly abandoned." - Food and Water Watch
"The remaining ‘success’ stories, meanwhile, can point to emissions reductions on paper that do not correspond to the overall pollution generated at these facilities." - Food and Water Watch
"Where captured carbon can be stored is limited by geology, a reality that would become more pronounced if and when carbon capture is deployed at the kind of massive scale that would be needed to make a difference to the climate. The best storage sites for carbon are in portions of North America, East Africa, and the North Sea, according to the Global CCS Institute.
That means getting captured carbon to storage sites could require extensive pipeline networks or even shipping fleets – posing potential new obstacles.
In October, for example, a $3 billion CCS pipeline project proposed by Navigator CO2 Ventures in the U.S. Midwest - meant to move carbon from heartland ethanol plants to good storage sites - was canceled amid concerns from residents about potential leaks and construction damage.
Companies investing in carbon removal need to take seriously community concerns about new infrastructure projects, said Simone Stewart, industrial policy specialist at the National Wildlife Federation." - Reuters
According to Food and Water Watch "Carbon capture cannot be the centerpiece of any serious climate plan. Its track record makes it appear to be a handout to fossil fuel corporations, publicly financing their attempts to keep their harmful product viable. The truth is we need to move to 100% renewable energy by 2030, and no half-baked schemes are going to replace that course of action. No matter how inconvenient that is to the oil and gas industry, it’s a fact the rest of us need to keep in sight."
Apps & Blockchains
CarbonCloud "calculates accurate carbon footprint data for food industry companies so they can communicate, report, and improve their sustainability initiatives."
CarbonTag "By increasing consumer trust and carbon transparency, our label decreased emissions by 9.5% and increased revenue by 20.1%."
Klimato "We help food businesses calculate, report and create opportunity through their sustainability goals."
Resources
International
DeSmog’s Agribusiness Database "find a record of companies and organisations’ current messaging on climate change, lobbying around climate action, and histories of climate science denial."
DeSmog’s Climate Disinformation Database "browse our extensive research on the individuals and organizations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming."
Europe
UK
DeSmog’s Air Pollution Lobbying Database "find out about organisations opposing or seeking to weaken planned air quality measures in the UK’s most polluted cities, including Clean Air Zones and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone."
North America
USA
DeSmog’s Koch Network Database "browse our extensive research on the individuals and organizations linked to Charles Koch or other members of the Koch family, Koch Industries, and related entities."
Organizations
International
Climate Defenders "is a multigenerational and multiracial action home rising up against the oil industry destroying our planet and our communities.
For generations, oil CEOs and the bank executives that finance them have prioritized profits over the well-being of our planet and its people. They pollute our air, poison our water, and dump toxins into our neighborhoods.
As Climate Defenders, we are fighting to end the fossil fuel industry and build a new future with good jobs, clean water, safe air, and a better future for our families. Join us!"
DeSmog "was founded in January 2006 to clear the PR pollution that is clouding the science and solutions to climate change. Our team quickly became the world’s number one source for accurate, fact-based information regarding global warming misinformation campaigns.
DeSmog continues to expand our focus to other areas where misinformation has eroded public understanding and political action to address critical societal challenges, such as meeting the world’s energy needs, confronting environmental racism, and ensuring a just transition to a sustainable economic paradigm.
Through hard-hitting investigative journalism, in-depth research, and collaborations with other investigative outlets, DeSmog works tirelessly to provide climate accountability and serve as an antidote to science denial and disinformation. Supported by science and dedicated to equity, our team is helping to clear the way for clean energy solutions, environmental justice, and the preservation of democracy.
Now a global organization, with reporters and researchers spanning North and South America, the UK, Europe, Africa, and beyond, the DeSmog team works to expose corporate misinformation from major fossil fuel interests, including the likes of ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and others with a documented history of undermining climate science and action. We conduct original research and reporting on a range of issues in the broader energy policy dialogue. In many cases, we find the same tactics, and many of the same people, that DeSmog first began exposing in our early research into the climate denial industry, are now sitting alongside a new breed of lobbyist, downplaying potential solutions to climate change, and promoting questionable “silver-bullet” solutions.
Our research databases provide vital information on over 800 organizations and individuals responsible for spreading misinformation on a range of energy and science topics. We first started reporting on Koch Industries’ funding of climate denial in 2007, and continue to track Koch-linked groups and operatives in our Koch Network Database. In 2020, we added two new databases — the Air Pollution Lobbying Database and Agribusiness Database — showing how vested interests are working to slow action across multiple sectors."
Asia
The Asia Society Policy Institute "works with policymakers, scientists, economists, business leaders, and experts from other fields to enhance the regional and global fight against climate change through accelerating the transition to net zero emissions, carbon pricing, clean energy and climate diplomacy."
Europe
UK
Earthwatch Europe: Tiny Forest "brings the benefits of woodland right into the heart of our cities and urban spaces: connecting people with nature, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change, as well as providing nature-rich habitat to support urban wildlife."
North America
USA
The Clean Energy States Alliance "is a national, nonprofit coalition of public agencies and organizations working together to advance clean energy.
CESA works with state leaders, federal agencies, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to develop clean energy programs and inclusive renewable energy markets. CESA members—mostly state agencies—include many of the most innovative, successful, and influential public funders of clean energy initiatives in the country."Stop the Money Pipeline "We are a coalition of 230+ organizations working to hold the financial sector accountable for its role in fueling climate chaos and environmental racism.
Join us to help end financing for fossil fuels."
Maps
International
The Global Coal Mine Tracker (GCMT) (Interactive) is a worldwide dataset of coal mines and proposed projects. The tracker provides asset-level details on ownership structure, development stage and status, coal type, capacity, production, workforce size, reserves and resources, methane emissions, geolocation, and over 30 other categories.
The Global Coal Plant Tracker (GCPT) (Interactive) "provides information on coal-fired power units from around the world generating 30 megawatts and above. The GCPT catalogues every operating coal-fired generating unit, every new unit proposed since 2010, and every unit retired since 2000. Units often consist of a boiler and turbine, and several units may make up one coal-fired power station. The map and underlying data is updated bi-annually, around January and July. Around April and October, partial supplemental releases also cover updates to proposed coal units outside of China. Each plant included in the tracker is linked to a wiki page on GEM.wiki, which provides additional details."
The Global Coal Project Finance Tracker (GCPFT) (Interactive) is a dataset of financial transactions to coal-fired power stations and proposed coal projects. The tracker includes information on project financiers, transaction amounts, financial institutions, financing status, dates of financial close, and more.
The Global Coal Terminals Tracker (GCTT) is a worldwide dataset of import, export, and domestic coal terminals, and new projects. The tracker provides asset-level details on coal terminal ownership, geolocation, development stage and status, capacity, and more."
The Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker (GGIT) (Interactive)"is an information resource on natural gas transmission pipeline projects and liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and export terminals. Currently, GGIT aims to include all LNG terminals regardless of threshold, as well as all global gas transmission pipelines over predetermined size thresholds. An interactive map shows pipeline routes and terminal locations, and tables provide additional data on each project. Both the map and table can be filtered, and more information is provided on project-specific wiki pages housed on GEM.wiki. The sources used during research and data collection are cited in each project’s wiki page. The internal GGIT database and wiki pages are updated continuously throughout the year, and an annual release is published and distributed with data summary tables."
The Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker (GOGET) (Interactive) "is a global dataset of oil and gas resources and their development. GOGET includes information on discovered, in-development, and operating oil and gas units worldwide, including both conventional and unconventional assets. The dataset tracks the status, ownership, production, and reserves of each unit, as data is available. Units that have production of 1 million boe/yr or more and/or reserves of 25 million boe or more are included. The data is provided in both map and table format. Each unit included in the tracker is linked to a wiki page on GEM.wiki, which provides additional details, including references for the data."
The Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker (GOGPT) (Interactive) is a worldwide dataset of oil and gas-fired power plants. It includes units with capacities of 50 megawatts (MW) or more (20 MW or more in the European Union and the United Kingdom). For internal combustion units, or those units that have multiple identically sized engines, the 50 MW capacity unit threshold applies to the total capacity of the set of engines. The GOGPT catalogs every oil and gas power plant at this capacity threshold of any status, including operating, announced, pre-construction, construction, shelved, cancelled, mothballed, or retired. Units often consist of a boiler and gas or steam turbines, and several units may make up one power station. The map and underlying data is updated bi-annually, in February and August. Each plant included in the tracker is linked to a wiki page on GEM.wiki, which provides additional details."
The Global Oil Infrastructure Tracker (GOIT) (Interactive) is an information resource on crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) transmission pipeline projects and their development. Currently, GOIT attempts to include all global crude oil and NGL transmission pipelines of any status, though availability on this infrastructure varies across countries and regions, and some are researched more completely than others. An interactive map shows pipeline routes, and tables allow users to access additional data on each project. Both the map and table can be filtered, and more information is provided on project-specific wiki pages housed on GEM.wiki. The sources used during research and data collection are cited in each project’s wiki page. The internal GOIT database and wiki pages are updated continuously throughout the year, and an annual release is published and distributed with data summary tables."
More People Care About Climate Change than You Think "The majority of people in every country support action on climate, but the public consistently underestimates this share."
Grants
International
Open Philanthropy "Open Philanthropy’s mission is to give as effectively as we can and share our findings openly so that anyone can build on our work."
North America
USA
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund "The President’s Inflation Reduction Act created a first-of-its-kind, national-scale program: the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund—a $27 billion investment to mobilize financing and private capital to address the climate crisis, ensure our country’s economic competitiveness, and promote energy independence while delivering lower energy costs and economic revitalization to communities that have historically been left behind."
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program "provides $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized under Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and approximately $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants."
Self-Help Credit Union "Our mission is creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for all, especially people of color, women, rural residents and low-wealth families and communities.
Self-Help Credit Union has branches in NC, SC, FL and VA, and we offer remote services like online and mobile banking to make joining us easy no matter where you live." "We're poised to use a major funding award from the EPA to help create a clean energy future for all."
California
California Air Districts "California's 35 local Air Districts are responsible for regional air quality planning, monitoring, and stationary source and facility permitting. The districts administer air quality improvement grant programs and are CARB's primary partners in efforts to ensure that all Californians breathe clean air."
California Air Resources Board: Funding for Clean School Buses