In Louisiana, Some GQP Pushing "Carbon Capture", Some Oppose It, Thanks To Pissed-Off Homeowners & Local Governments
A technology touted by the oil and gas industry as a way to keep drilling but with a lower carbon footprint is facing new opposition from Republican lawmakers in Louisiana, the U.S. epicenter of the push for carbon capture and sequestration. Environmentalists have long questioned the cost, risks and effectiveness of CCS. But now their critique is being echoed by fossil-fuel friendly Republicans, who increasingly are pressed by homeowners around Louisiana’s Lake Maurepas and elsewhere to stop the roughly 30 CCS projects planned for the state.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently called CCS “a scam,” criticizing state GOP lawmakers for pushing the technology. CCS aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by trapping carbon dioxide emissions from industry and injecting them deep underground— or underwater — for permanent storage. The oil and gas industry also uses CO2 for so-called enhanced oil recovery, which entails injecting pressurized carbon dioxide into wells to free trapped oil, a technique that accounts for about 2% of the nation’s production.
This month, the Republican-controlled Louisiana Legislature will debate a bevy of bills to limit or kill CCS; one is a proposed yearlong moratorium and another is an outright ban.“The House is going to be driving this train. They must have 12 bills over there which aren't all that friendly to carbon capture and storage,” state Sen. Bob Hensgens, chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, told reporters during a briefing on CCS ahead of this year’s legislative session, which started April 14.
Jackson Voss, climate policy coordinator for the New Orleans-based nonprofit Alliance for Affordable Energy, doesn’t think any of the anti-CCS bills stand a chance given the strong lobbying power of the oil and gas industry in Louisiana. And if they were to get traction this legislative session he believes Republican Gov. Jeff Landry would use his influence to block them from ever hitting his desk.
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https://floodlightnews.org/gop-support-of-carbon-capture-fractures-in-louisiana-nationally/