Today, eight groups issued a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, requesting that federal taxpayer dollars, credits and incentives do not go toward carbon capture and storage. Carbon capture and storage is a false climate solution that threatens to entrench both the fossil fuel and industrial agriculture industries and steal public money away from real climate solutions like wind and solar. The letter comes amidst Congressional debate on the Build Back Better Act.

To minimize the harms that carbon capture and sequestration poses, groups requested that Senator Schumer and Congressional Democrats:

• increase minimum capture rates to 90%, which industry leaders consistently claim to the public that they are able to achieve,
• eliminate the tax credit for carbon dioxide used in enhanced oil recovery, and 
• ensure that CCS facilities and related infrastructure are not sited in disadvantaged communities.

The group’s letter came days after U.S. Representative Ro Khanna introduced legislation dubbed the End Polluter Welfare for Enhanced Oil Recovery Act to eliminate public subsidies for enhanced oil recovery.

“Carbon capture and storage has no place in a clean energy future — and no place in our backyards,” said Emma Schmit, Food & Water Watch Senior Iowa Organizer. “Posing immediate dangers to Iowans’ lives, land and livelihood, carbon capture and the pipelines that come with it are a false solution to the crisis we face. Congress must eliminate loopholes that funnel taxpayer dollars to this corporate scam. It’s time to double down on addressing the true causes of climate change — stopping fossil fuels and reforming our agriculture system.”

“Carbon capture and sequestration is just another greenwashing scheme designed to prop up the fossil fuel industry,” said Julie Duhn, Hardin County resident and member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. “We don’t want our tax dollars lining the pockets of corporate profiteers who only seek to further destroy our planet when we should be trying to heal it. That’s why Iowa communities are banding together to keep these pipelines out of Iowa.”

Contact: Phoebe Galt, [email protected]