No Carbon Cuts From Russia, But Not To Worry! Hydrogen! Carbon Capture! Somethingsomethinggreen!

[hatrack]

Russia has no plans to rein in its production of fossil fuels in the coming decades despite the global efforts to shift towards low-carbon energy, according to its energy minister. Alexander Novak told the Guardian that Russia did “not see that we will achieve a peak in [gas] production anytime soon” because the world’s appetite for gas would continue to grow in the decades ahead despite its growing number of climate targets.

Instead, during a crucial decade in the battle to keep a lid on rising global temperatures, Russia will pair a 50% growth in gas production with plans to become a global leader in producing clean-burning hydrogen and developing carbon capture technology. Russia intends to ramp up gas production from its vast and inexpensive reserves to reach 1tn cubic meters a year by 2035, from just under 680bn cubic meters last year.

It also plans to increase the amount of gas it exports on giant super-chilled tankers more than four-fold, from 29m tonnes a year to 120-140m tonnes, while continuing to send about 200bn cubic meters of gas to Europe via pipelines including the politically contentious Nord Stream project.

“I believe natural gas to be an eco-friendly energy source,” said Novak. “We believe that the share of natural gas in the global energy mix will only increase. We believe this to apply not only to Europe, but globally too.”

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/01/russia-rules-out-cutting-fossil-fuel-production-in-next-few-decades

[Shermann]

1. Carbon capture technology is a self-contradiction

If energy production technology was far enough along you wouldn't need carbon capture.

Carbon capture is basically medieval energy technology with waste gasses being pumped into a hypothetical sealed cave.

It's window dressing around the business-as-usual practice of burning fossil fuels. It isn't even a viable transitional approach, just pie-in-the-sky lip service from Big Oil which amounts to little more than nothing.

[progree]

2. Maybe we should blame the countries that import and burn it, as much or more