„Shell sees its future in negative emissions“- Opinion

by Ina Möller, NRC Handelsblad (Dutch daily newspaper), published on Aug 18

„How do Shell and the IPCC envision reaching global climate targets while still using fossil fuels? The answer to this question lies in the term ‘negative emissions’. Who has a right to these so-called ‘negative emissions‘, asks Ina Möller in this recent NRC Opinion article, which is the English translation of “Shell rekent zich rijk met negatieve emissies“. […] There is currently no consensus about what or whose emissions are considered ‘hard-to-abate’, and who has a right to continue emitting. And as long as individual companies like Shell claim such residual emissions for themselves, the limited capacity available for absorbing CO2 (a number that is still highly unclear), will no doubt be exceeded. It is therefore imperative that both modelers and policy makers are crystal clear about what they mean by residual emissions, and who they think has a right to claim these. Without a common understanding of how the pie should be divided, large emitters can continue to delay emissions reductions, and no-one can hold them accountable for it.“