"US EPA Must Do More To Ensure Captured Carbon Stays Underground -Report"

"WASHINGTON - The U.S. environment regulator does not sufficiently verify that carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects keep emissions trapped underground and should boost its requirements to ensure companies receiving CCS tax credits provide an actual environmental benefit, a watchdog group said on Thursday.

CCS is a pillar of U.S. President Joe Biden's climate plan, but has been criticized by environmental groups for prolonging the use of fossil fuels. Biden's cornerstone climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, includes lucrative CCS tax credits.

The non-profit group Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) reviewed 21 CCS plans approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and found that the agency does not require any specific monitoring strategies or technologies, that companies wrote their own guidelines for addressing leaks, and that ambiguity within the plans makes them difficult to enforce."

Leah Douglas reports for Reuters December 14, 2023.

 

Source: Reuters, 12/14/2023