Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Abstract
Abstract
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the UN’s expert science panel—has repeatedly found that limiting climate change to prevent catastrophic harms will require at least some use of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), and may entail substantial deployments of this technology. There is significant uncertainty, however, about the level of lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions achievable in practice from varying CCS applications; some applications could even lead to net increases in emissions. In addition, a number of these applications create or maintain other harms, especially those related to fossil fuel extraction and use. For these reasons, many environmental justice advocates have strongly opposed the deployment of CCS applications. The recently-enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) supercharges incentives for CCS, providing tax credits that bring CCS application near estimated costs of deployment. But neither the IRA nor other federal laws create a comprehensive framework to regulate CCS. Against this backdrop, U.S. states implementing climate policies will likely play a key role in determining whether and in what circumstances CCS is deployed in the U.S. This paper describes these state-federal dynamics and concludes by identifying climate and equity issues that “leadership’ states should consider and potential legal tools that can be used to address those considerations.
Publication Title
San Diego Journal of Climate and Energy Law
Volume
14
First Page
95
Last Page
177
Keywords
Carbon capture and sequestration, Inflation Reduction Act, Environmental justice, Hydrogen, CCS, Federalism, States
Recommended Citation
Gabriel Pacyniak,
State Sequestration: Federal Policy Accelerates Carbon Storage, But Leaves Full Climate, Equity Protections to States,
14
San Diego Journal of Climate and Energy Law
95
(2023).
Available at:
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/law_facultyscholarship/932
