Carbon capture and the production of technological futures through corporate climate solutions discourse

Abstract

This study reviews sustainability discourse within the context of emerging carbon capture technologies, while evaluating the unsustainable framework in which this discourse is situated. Through ideological and rhetorical discourse analysis of the websites of three prominent carbon capture companies, the study investigates how sustainability is strategically used as a symbolic concept to justify and continue profit-driven agendas. Findings show that carbon capture businesses operate within capitalist structures that adapt to market demands while presenting growth and innovation as synonymous with environmental guardianship. Four themes are identified as prevalent in the discourse of the three companies: shared culpability for climate change, depoliticisation of climate mitigation, corporate saviourism, and promotion of technological futures. This study presents perspectives on contemporary climate solutions discourse by analysing how up-and-coming market players define sustainability and success in climate mitigation.