Recent Developments

It is rare to find a bipartisan climate bill in the United States Senate. Still, on March 22, five senators – two Republicans and three Democrats – introduced the USE IT Act (S.2602), a bill that supports funding for carbon removal research. A few weeks ago, this bill was voted out of the Environment and Public Works Committee – a substantial step toward moving the legislation forward. While this bill draws bipartisan support for different reasons, the resulting outcome is the same: carbon removal is advanced.

Another notable policy development is the recent update to Section 45Q of the federal tax code. Section 45Q now incentivizes industries to enter into the carbon capture market. This updated provision eliminates the cap on redeemable tax credits that industries can claim when removing carbon from the atmosphere. So, entering the carbon removal market becomes less financially risky. The updated tax credit applies to CCS, CCUS, and DAC. Other recent policy developments include the introduction of the Farmers CARE Act (H.R.5627), which would incentive farmers to create grazing plans that also maximize the carbon uptake of soil; and the introduction of the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (H.R.589 and S.2503), which encourages carbon removal through DAC technologies and natural systems.

Carbon removal research is also making headway. Earlier this month, the company Carbon Engineering, along with scientists at Harvard University, claimed to have developed a cheap method for removing atmospheric CO2 via DAC technologies. Other developments include the recent opening of a CCS testing facility in Wyoming and a Stanford University study which finds that 60 percent of the CO2 emitted from ethanol plants could potentially be captured at a low cost.

Carbon removal systems are feasible, have many benefits, and are making progress in the policy and research realms. Most importantly, carbon removal strategies address climate change, which is one of the world’s most pressing threats. Incorporating carbon removal into our policy solutions is necessary to avoid the two degree-Celsius mark, and thereby avoiding a possible tipping point into a climate catastrophe.