In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Andrew Waxman, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), a technology that involves the capture and storage or reuse of carbon dioxide. Waxman discusses the application of CCUS technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and industrial facilities; the  importance of the technology for achieving emissions-reduction goals; and the potential effects of the technology on local air pollution, particularly in communities along the US Gulf Coast.

References and recommendations:

“What are the likely air pollution impacts of carbon capture and storage?” by Andrew Waxman, HR Huber-Rodriquez, and Sheila M. Olmstead; https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4590320

“Special Report on Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage: CCUS in Clean Energy Transitions” from the International Energy Agency; https://www.iea.org/reports/ccus-in-clean-energy-transitions

“City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways” by Megan Kimble; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/711708/city-limits-by-megan-kimble/

Will Carbon Capture Make Local Air Pollution Worse?, with Andrew Waxman

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi discusses subsidies for carbon capture and storage (CCS) with Sheila Olmstead, a professor at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and a senior faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Olmstead evaluates the complicated nature of the 45Q policy, a federal subsidy available to firms that implement CCS. While CCS subsidy programs promote the reduction of carbon emissions, Olmstead identifies these subsidies as having the potential to financially burden the federal government, discourage clean energy projects, and motivate more pollution.

References and recommendations:

“How to design better incentives for carbon capture and storage in the United States” by Sheila M. Olmstead, Benjamin D. Leibowicz, Charles F. Mason, Andrew R. Waxman, Emily Grubert, HR Huber-Rodriguez, and Joseph Stemmler; https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2404677122

“Night Watch” by Jayne Anne Phillips; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/540650/night-watch-pulitzer-prize-winner-by-jayne-anne-phillips/

Airing New Concerns with US Carbon Capture Policies, with Sheila Olmstead

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.

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