Jean Chemnik, E&E News
Environmental justice advocates have long opposed efforts to build carbon capture infrastructure in marginalized communities.
Their worries are manifold. Pipelines could burst. Storage sites might leak. Fossil fuel power plants might linger, their life span extended by a technology that captures carbon dioxide but not smog and soot.
But the Biden administration has repeatedly linked carbon capture and storage with environmental justice. It has gone as far as to count some CCS spending toward its Justice40 initiative to invest in disadvantaged communities — against the express wishes of its own hand-picked advisory panel on environmental justice.
“The vibe that we’ve been getting now for a while is like, this is happening. It’s happening whether you like it or not,” said Irene Burga Márquez, climate justice and clean air program director for GreenLatinos. “Which is not a great starting point. It feels like there’s no room for discussion or flexibility. It’s more like, we’re forcing something down your throat with, like, some sugar.”
