The world's biggest polluters are banking on carbon capture and storage (CCS) to help meet their net-zero targets – but at what cost to local communities? A surge in CCS projects across the United States has sparked widespread concern, as oil firms and other companies vie for billions of dollars in government subsidies.
In towns such as Clymers, Indiana, residents are banding together to fight proposed carbon storage sites. For Melissa Harrison, a long-term resident, the plan by a local ethanol plant to store vast quantities of carbon beneath her town is a nightmare come true – and she's not alone. Clymers already struggles with issues stemming from industrial agriculture, including contaminated well water and high poverty rates. The proposed project has been met with fierce resistance, with some residents reportedly offered meagre annual payments for the use of their land.
The Andersons Renewables, behind the Clymers project, insists that CCS is a safe, proven technology. They claim to capture CO2 from ethanol production, compress it, and inject it over 3,000 feet underground into identified geological formations. Site suitability has allegedly been confirmed through seismic analysis and test drilling – but community concerns persist.
International climate monitors stress that while CCS could be a supplementary tool in the fight against global heating, urgent reductions in fossil fuel use remain the top priority. Environmental organisations express scepticism about the long-term benefits of these projects, warning they might divert attention and investment from the essential transition to renewable energy sources – and pose risks to local populations.
As dozens more CCS projects prepare for greenlighting by US regulatory bodies, corporate permit applications are pouring in. Many of these initiatives are backed and funded by oil industry players, highlighting the lucrative financial incentives driving this sector's expansion.