Carbon Capture Coalition submits policy recommendations to Biden Administration
The Carbon Capture Coalition has submitted a memo to US President Biden’s climate team, providing a targeted list of climate, energy, infrastructure, and related federal policy recommendations for the first 100 days of the new administration and 117th Congress.
A “broad suite” of policies will be needed to commercialise carbon capture and removal technologies and enable meeting the Biden Administration’s goal of a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the organisation.
Building on landmark bipartisan legislation, including the 2018 Future Act, and the recently passed Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 omnibus bill, Congress and the administration now have a critical near-term opportunity to advance a ‘comprehensive and ambitious’ policy portfolio for the large-scale deployment of carbon capture, removal, transport, use, and geological storage technologies.
The Carbon Capture Coalition, a non-partisan collaboration of more than 80 businesses and organisations, believes carbon capture is a critical component for the economy-wide decarbonisation needed to meet midcentury climate goals, while also generating new economic opportunities and high-wage jobs across the country.
Deployment of carbon capture also provides a viable pathway for the decarbonisation and continued operation of key industrial, manufacturing, and energy facilities, avoiding plant closures and the offshoring of jobs. One analysis estimates that capture deployment at industrial facilities and power plants and the deployment of associated CO2 transport infrastructure in 21 states across the Midwest, Great Plains, Gulf Coast, and Rockies region can support an annual average of up to 68,000 project jobs, and 35,800 ongoing operational jobs over 15 years, and capture 592 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
The Carbon Capture Coalition’s priorities for the first 100 days (legislative actions) include:
A “broad suite” of policies will be needed to commercialise carbon capture and removal technologies and enable meeting the Biden Administration’s goal of a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the organisation.
Building on landmark bipartisan legislation, including the 2018 Future Act, and the recently passed Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 omnibus bill, Congress and the administration now have a critical near-term opportunity to advance a ‘comprehensive and ambitious’ policy portfolio for the large-scale deployment of carbon capture, removal, transport, use, and geological storage technologies.
The Carbon Capture Coalition, a non-partisan collaboration of more than 80 businesses and organisations, believes carbon capture is a critical component for the economy-wide decarbonisation needed to meet midcentury climate goals, while also generating new economic opportunities and high-wage jobs across the country.
Deployment of carbon capture also provides a viable pathway for the decarbonisation and continued operation of key industrial, manufacturing, and energy facilities, avoiding plant closures and the offshoring of jobs. One analysis estimates that capture deployment at industrial facilities and power plants and the deployment of associated CO2 transport infrastructure in 21 states across the Midwest, Great Plains, Gulf Coast, and Rockies region can support an annual average of up to 68,000 project jobs, and 35,800 ongoing operational jobs over 15 years, and capture 592 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
The Carbon Capture Coalition’s priorities for the first 100 days (legislative actions) include:
- Allow for a direct pay option and further extend the commence-construction window for the Section 45Q tax credit to facilitate greater deployment of carbon capture
- Provide low-cost federal financing, grants, and front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies to expand deployment of large-scale CO2 transport and storage infrastructure as part of a broader infrastructure package
- Fully fund robust authorisations for DOE cost-share programmes for carbon capture RD&D contained in the recently enacted Energy Act of 2020. Relevant portions of the Energy Act of 2020 include the establishment of a carbon removal programme that will provide funding for RD&D related to direct air capture and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
- Enhance other existing federal incentives to further enable the financing of carbon capture, use, and removal projects
- Prioritise actions to maximise benefits of carbon capture projects to affected communities
- Coordinate federal actions to scale-up regional CO2 storage hubs
- Include carbon capture and removal in International Climate Agreements
