Tell the WaPo: Carbon Capture is NOT a Climate Commitment

A recent Washington Post story framed Doug Burgum’s preference for unproven carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a climate commitment from the Trump Administration. “The surprising climate commitments of Trump’s new ‘energy czar’,” the headline reads.

While carbon capture is often promoted as a tool to fight climate change, the reality is far less promising. The process itself is highly energy-intensive, requiring significant amounts of fossil fuels to power the capture, transport, and storage of CO2. In fact, most captured carbon ends up being used to extract more oil through enhanced oil recovery—a practice that only increases overall emissions.

And while governments and companies have been investing large sums of cash in CCS schemes for decades, they’ve failed to capture climate pollution at any meaningful scale, and a majority of proposed projects haven’t materialized. 

Spending taxpayer money on carbon capture and storage is not a climate commitment—it’s a dangerous cycle that undermines efforts to combat climate change and locks us into continued fossil fuel dependence.

Additionally, the infrastructure needed for CCS comes with serious risks. CO2 pipelines and underground storage facilities pose safety concerns, including the potential for leaks, explosions, and contamination of surrounding areas. These risks fall disproportionately on communities near these projects, many of which already bear the burden of pollution from fossil fuel extraction and processing.

Instead of investing in CCS, we should focus on cutting emissions at the source. We need to capture carbon before it is burned, not after. By reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and accelerating the transition to renewable energy, we can achieve lasting, meaningful progress in addressing the climate crisis.

Sign the petition to tell the Washington Post to hold the Trump Administration accountable to real solutions–not unproven distractions.

Instead of focusing our nation’s resources on carbon capture, the administration should:

Redirect subsidies and investments from fossil fuels and CCS projects to renewable energy initiatives.

Implement policies that encourage energy efficiency and conservation across all sectors.

Support research and development in renewable energy technologies to enhance their efficiency and accessibility.
Promote public awareness and education on the benefits of reducing fossil fuel consumption and adopting renewable energy sources.

Carbon capture may one day be a part of the solution to climate change. But today, it is being used by defenders of dirty energy like Energy Czar Doug Burgum to continue their operations. Please sign the petition to tell the Washington Post not to accept half measures and to pressure the administration to focus on capturing carbon before it is burned.

Photo credit Flickr user Stuart Rankin used under CC BY-NC 2.0