Greenpeace Canada has accused Shell’s flagship carbon capture project of making over $145m by selling emissions credits for reductions that never happened.

In the report Selling Hot Air from Greenpeace Canada, Freedom of Information documents obtained by Greenpeace show that Shell lobbied for and received a 2-for-1 deal during 2008 negotiations with the Government of Alberta as a way to further subsidise the project. Under this deal, Shell was able to sell credits for two tonnes of CO2 for every one tonne that it actually captured – and keep all the profits.

“Selling emissions credits for reductions that never happened is the worst kind of hot air, because it literally makes climate change worse,” said Keith Stewart. “This was all legal, but that doesn’t make it right.”

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