The politics of carbon removal heat up

In recent weeks, carbon management has found itself in the spotlight – for reasons both encouraging and concerning for its proponents.

On May 28th, the DOE unveiled the semifinalists for a new funding competition for carbon removal and storage companies, as well as a plan to buy over $30 million in carbon credits from the eventual winners. The same day, President Biden also revealed new policies that aim to guide and bolster the larger voluntary carbon credit market.

These moves follow Biden’s much larger investments in carbon removal last year: $1.2 billion to fund two direct-air capture facilities in Texas and Louisiana, as well as nearly a billion to fund carbon storage and transport. 

It’s not all good news for the sector, however. The week before the DOE’s announcement, on May 23, the trade group Edison Electric Institute joined a coalition of utilities providers to sue the EPA over new federal requirements to use carbon capture technologies in their power plants. The plaintiffs argue that the tech isn’t ready for wide-scale deployment.

In today’s episode, we’ll consider whether these various forms of carbon management – from removal to capture and storage – are on a pathway to scalability, and whether industry resistance will slow their advancement.

The show wraps up with the hosts’ rapid-fire hot takes in “The Mark-up.” 

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