Fossil industry uses AI to justify carbon capture expansion

CIEL warns that the fossil fuel industry is exploiting AI’s rising electricity demand to push new fossil gas and coal power plants wrapped in carbon capture and storage (CCS) as “reliable” power for data centers.

• Main announcement/action: CIEL (Center for International Environmental Law) argues that fossil companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Eni are actively pitching gas and coal power plants with CCS to data center operators and Big Tech; CIEL documents lobbying presence (at least 480 CCS lobbyists at COP29) and cites specific company claims (ExxonMobil’s statement that it is “uniquely positioned” to meet AI power needs) and events (Global CCS Institute promotion at 2025 New York Climate Week).
• Background and concrete details: The piece lists concrete figures and policy incentives: $954 million spent lobbying by the fossil industry since 2005, $684 million in US public funding for eight coal CCS projects (only Petra Nova came online), an official estimate of over $30 billion in US CCS subsidies through 2032, the US 45Q credit offering up to $85 per ton of captured CO2, and data-center emissions estimated at 212 million tCO2e (2023) rising to 355 million tCO2e (2030). The article also notes an April 2025 US executive order pushing coal as a power source for data centers and cites studies showing a high CCS failure rate (about 88% of projects failed).