The U.S. carbon capture industry is facing new uncertainty after EPA unveiled plans to ax the federal program that requires thousands of polluters to track and report climate-warming emissions.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin described the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program on Friday as “nothing more than bureaucratic red tape,” but companies also use it to claim the federal 45Q tax credit — a key incentive for carbon capture and removal projects.
Parts of EPA’s program are “inextricably linked” to the 45Q credit, Jessie Stolark, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition, said in a statement last week after EPA’s announcement. For example, the coalition said in a fact sheet, companies use data reported to the greenhouse gas program to claim 45Q credits for carbon dioxide stored in underground formations.
Repealing parts of the program tied to CCS “would result in lost revenues and decreased economic activity in a sector critical for American jobs and global competitiveness,” Stolark said in a statement Monday.
