Today at Pittsburg’s Calpine Delta Energy Center, the Calpine company hosted an unveiling of California’s first carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) demonstration pilot project adjacent to an existing natural gas power facility.

In response, Food & Water Watch’s California Director Chirag Bhakta issued the following statement:

“True climate leaders can’t rely on unproven, unworkable schemes like carbon capture to reach our state’s climate goals. All carbon capture does is provide a lifeline to the oil and gas industry to maintain its status quo of climate pollution and environmental degradation. The only legitimate way to protect our climate from the assault of fossil fuels is to stop drilling and fracking for fossil fuels.

“Carbon capture is a prohibitively expensive process that requires significant untested and unproven infrastructure. Further, the deployment of carbon capture technology near population centers and vulnerable communities poses significant dangers. The transportation and storage of captured carbon can lead to leaks, accidents and explosions, releasing toxic substances into the surrounding environment. This can result in severe health risks disproportionately affecting already vulnerable communities.”

Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute provides the following statement:

“This project aims to extend the life of a dirty methane gas plant when it’s both urgent and possible to phase out these plants that are fueling climate catastrophe. Carbon capture is a false climate solution that takes public money and puts communities at risk. It’s a scam that doesn’t warrant celebration or public funds.”

Marjaneh Moini, MD, Board Member, Physicians for Social Responsibility provides the following statement: 

“Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) creates public health hazards at every stage, from capture to transport and sequestration. CCS will worsen the air quality in already overburdened communities. By increasing levels of pollutants associated with asthma, poor birth outcomes, heart attack and cancer, CCS exacerbates stark health inequities in California. California’s climate policies must be good air quality and good public health policies. California must end its reliance on fossil fuels. It is disheartening to see that our top air regulators keep falling for fossil fuel lobby scams.”