IEA Urges Oil and Gas Industry to Rethink Carbon Capture as Climate Solution

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged the oil and gas industry to abandon the belief that carbon capture technology is a viable solution to climate change and instead invest more in clean energy. The IEA's Executive Director, Fatih Birol, stated that the industry must face the reality that a successful transition to clean energy requires scaling back oil and gas operations, not expanding them. The IEA report highlights that just 1% of global clean energy investment has come from oil and gas companies, and to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the industry would need to invest 50% of capital expenditures in clean energy projects by 2030. Excessive reliance on carbon capture is seen as a major pitfall in the energy transition, as it would require an inconceivable amount of carbon capture and significant investment.