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Sequestration is a Bad Bet;People – not Polluters –Bear the RiskOnce a CO2 molecule is emitted into the air, it cantake two centuries before it is reintegrated intonatural carbon sinks like forests. This report uses theterms ‘storage’ and ‘sequestration’ interchangeablybecause that is the norm, although it may be moreappropriate to say that storage implies ‘artificialsequestration’ or the attempt by humans to sequesterCO2 at a scale and rate not possible naturally.3The problem with IEA’s assertion is it is tooconvenient for expanding CO2-EOR operations. Inaddition, the multiple bore holes and wells drilled inthem to find and extract oil and gas further increasethe risk of leakage. The IEA also admits that, “[t]he long-term storage integrity of oil fields that havebeen exploited with multiple wells has yet to receiveserious scientific investigation.” 108© Lu Guang / GreenpeaceOdds of CO2 Leakage areHigh, and Leakage is BadIn order for CCS to deliver a lasting benefit to theclimate, the vast majority of sequestered CO2 mustremain underground permanently. Geological formationsproposed are sub-seabed and saline aquifers.The IEA says that depleted oil and gas reservoirswould be the most likely candidates for initial storageoperations because of both their geology andproximity to industrial development.The prominent Sleipner project, a CCS storagetesting site off the coast of Norway injecting CO2scrubbed from raw gas after extraction, was foundin 2012 to have many nearby fractures, warrantingincreased expense toward surveying the geology ofsuch sites. 109 Some scientists say it’s not a matterof if the site will leak, it’s just a question of when. 110Researchers devoted to the promise of CCS remainunconcerned. 111However, undue confidence in understanding ofthe geology at Sleipner is not new. 112 While offshoreinjection may be easier for the public to accept,deepsea sites will be more difficult to monitor. Thereare few studies to ascertain potential effects ofundersea CO2 leakage, but scientists have concludedthat it may be detrimental across the oceanfood web. 113 CO2 leakage from sequestration couldexacerbate already rising ocean acidification, sincethe ocean absorbs about 25% of anthropogenicCO2 pollution. This is threatening a different type ofplanetary disaster altogether. 114Page 20