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Carbon Capture Projects Face Cost Tests
Coverage from The Narwhal, Canada's National Observer, and others
Articles
30
Active Days
272
The Topic
Carbon capture and storage is being advanced as a way to reduce industrial emissions, with Canada’s Pathways project serving as a central test of whether the technology can support Alberta’s oil sands while meeting climate goals. The project’s expected start date, capture volume and cost have worsened from earlier plans, increasing reliance on public incentives and carbon-credit revenues. Across Canada and the United States, proposed facilities also face questions about commercial performance, storage integrity, community consent and whether CCS reduces emissions or enables continued fossil fuel production.
First Article: 10/29/25
Latest Article: 07/27/26
Summary
- Canada’s Pathways project has been delayed to an initial operating target of 2035, while its planned capture volume has been reduced from earlier projections and estimated costs have increased.
- Federal and provincial incentives, investment tax credits and carbon-credit programs are central to the financial case for major CCS projects.
- Critics argue CCS has delivered limited results relative to past Canadian promises and should supplement, not replace, direct reductions in fossil fuel emissions.
- Community opposition is growing around proposed storage sites, with residents raising concerns about groundwater, pipeline safety, seismic risks and limited local control.
- Offshore storage in the Gulf of Mexico may offer favorable geology and proximity to emitters, but long-term monitoring, regulation and leak remediation remain uncertain.
- Changes to Alberta’s industrial carbon-price trajectory have weakened the projected revenues for some bio-CCS and waste-to-energy projects.
- The Pathways proposal is closely linked to plans for increased Canadian oil production and a potential West Coast pipeline, intensifying debate over its climate value.
History
The story now places greater emphasis on CCS economics and policy support, while broadening from an Alberta oilsands debate to a wider North American CCS controversy. New attention to U.S. projects and offshore storage adds regulatory and liability uncertainties beyond the original Pathways-centered framing.
The biggest update is that Pathways looks materially smaller, later, and more expensive than before: its first phase is now framed as about 6 million tonnes by 2035, with total costs rising sharply. The story also sharpens around policy support and carbon-market design as the key determinants of whether CCS projects can still pencil out.
Featured
07-21-2026
Canadian governments backed carbon capture and storage for industrial emissions, but capture totals and Alberta oilsands emissions trends raised questions about CCS scale and costs through 2000 to 2024.
07-20-2026
Dave Sawyer says Clean Fuel Regulation credits for Alberta's Pathways CCS could pass operating-cost support into consumer fuel prices after operations start later than planned.
06-29-2026
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith revised Canada\u2019s industrial carbon tax terms, capping the price at 130 CAD per ton through 2040 and threatening Alberta clean-tech project financing.
Timeline: 272 Days
Hover over any logo to see coverage summary, click for full article.
Additional Articles
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IEEFA and Anika Juhn assess offshore CCS injection and geologic storage risks in Gulf of Mexico projects led by ExxonMobil, Repsol, and Chevron.
Alberta issued a draft CCUS quantification protocol update on May 27, 2026, expanding storage eligibility and MRV rules for Removal Credits and permanence.
Canada's federal government supports a 16.5 billion carbon capture and storage project in Alberta tied to a west coast pipeline, announced in Budget 2025.
In Alberta in 2025–2026, the provincial government and Pathways Alliance are accelerating CCS investment through hub infrastructure, cost-shared pipelines, and enhanced TIER carbon pricing incentives.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith announced a Canada-Alberta agreement increasing industrial carbon pricing and financing CCS deployment from 2030 to 2040.
Climate scientists Myles Allen and Andrew Weaver propose in a Canada-focused analysis that governments mandate and internalize full carbon disposal costs to deliver verifiable net-zero fossil fuels.
Navius Research modelling for 440 Megatonnes finds the Canada-Alberta MOU keeps Canadian emissions near the pre-MOU trajectory through mid-century by weakening Alberta industrial carbon pricing while enabling higher oil and pipeline output.
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Clymers, Indiana residents protest an ethanol-linked CCS injection project, challenging 45Q incentive-driven economics and risks to groundwater and public safety while permitting proceeds.
Mark Carney's federal government and Alberta reached industrial carbon pricing terms to enable the Pathways oil sands CCS project and related pipeline approvals by September 2027.
In eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia, CCS project supporters and opponents disagree over CO2 storage emissions impact, leakage risks, and Ohio pore-space governance as Tenaska advances storage plans.
Ottawa and Alberta carbon pricing talks for industrial decarbonization and CCS exceeded deadlines as the Pathways carbon capture network and West Coast pipeline plan await regulatory and financial support.
Chief Allan Adam and Amil Shapka urge Alberta and Ottawa to abandon Pathways Plus CCS, citing CO2 pipeline safety, emergency response concerns, and uncertain emissions capture in northern Alberta.
Global CCS Institute sent an open letter to Australian Labor National President Kate Ellis after Labor's 50th conference, urging explicit CCS inclusion supported by Moomba CCS carbon credits.
ProPublica and Drilled argue CCUS and CCS can support net-zero goals, citing IEA and IPCC support and scaling projects in Norway, Louisiana, and South Australia.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith signed a Calgary agreement with the Oil Sands Alliance in support of Pathways CCS negotiations in Alberta.
Canada announced July 2025 funding for CCUS projects, including Bow Valley Carbon in Alberta, as Alberta expands incentives and regulation amid debates over cost and environmental risks.
No CO2 Pipeline coalition in Alberta urges federal action on environmental impact assessment for a proposed Pathways Alliance CO2 pipeline CCS project, citing inadequate consultation and rupture and contamination risks.
In Edmonton, a coalition of Indigenous leaders and rural Albertans asked Ottawa for a federal environmental review of Alberta's Pathways CCS pipeline after Alberta waived an impact assessment in 2024.
Canada and Alberta agreed on a net-zero implementation package in Alberta, reforming TIER carbon pricing, expanding electricity transmission, and linking CCUS with low-emission bitumen exports.
Alberta announced TIER-funded methane-reduction projects and an online methane technology tool at the 2026 Global Energy Show, with additional Canada support for scaling adoption.
Oil Sands Alliance updated carbon capture plans in Canada, reducing annual capture targets in Alberta oilsands from 68 to 16 megatonnes while pipeline support discussions continue.
Canada and Alberta advance a West Coast oilsands pipeline while scaling back Pathways CCS and reducing the role of a federal oil and gas emissions cap.
Mark Carney and Sean Collins criticized Canada’s carbon credit design on May 15, arguing incentive and pricing settings undermine CCS and carbon removal project viability in Alberta.
Ohio signed H.B. 170 on 2026-09-23 effective date, creating ODNR rules for CCS Class VI CO2 injection wells pending U.S. EPA primacy.
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Industry, policymakers, and researchers evaluate CCS viability in 2024 globally as renewables become cheaper.
Canada and Alberta push carbon capture in oil sands and plan higher carbon pricing by April.
Food and Water Watch reports CCS failures in the United States amid Google Decatur project activity.