Today the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on “advancing carbon capture, utilization and sequestration technologies.” At the hearing, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the ranking member, stated: “In order to reach climate safety, we must deploy carbon capture. And we are doing it too slowly… It will take direct air capture… to pull us back from the danger zone.”

In response, Food & Water Watch Policy Director Jim Walsh issued the following statement:

“Senator Whitehouse, who claims to be a climate champion, really needs to get his facts straight on the wasteful, faulty scheme that is carbon capture and storage. Carbon capture is simply not a climate solution. It is an egregious giveaway to fossil fuel polluters that are profiting from these billions and billions in wasteful public subsidies.

“The 45Q tax credit, which is underwriting this industry, has no requirement that meaningful emissions reductions are ever actually delivered. Congress should be working to end these foolish subsidies and invest in legitimate climate solutions – not doubling down on these hazardous and unproved carbon capture schemes.”

On Monday a letter was sent from more than 200 organizations and communities across the United States, urging leaders of key Congressional committees to repeal the 45Q tax credit and other subsidies for the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) industry.

Existing CO2 injection well failures at the ADM class VI well in Illinois and numerous well failures in Texas, as well as a CO2 pipeline rupture in Mississippi that sent dozens to the hospital have demonstrated the dangers to public safety and drinking water that were entirely ignored by the committee.