SEHN is working to grow and fortify the rapid grassroots response to the false solution of carbon capture and storage (CCS). In September 2021, when a diverse group of scientists, grassroots leaders, and organizers recognized this unfolding threat to communities and climate, SEHN organized a nationwide coalition.
The fossil fuel industry is desperate to survive, given the pressure from the climate and environmental movements to stop extracting and burning oil and gas. In response, it is pushing—with federal, publicly-funded support—a Rube Goldberg plan to extend its life with CCS.
CCS is a process by which large, complex machinery is built onto an existing source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Fossil fuels continue to be burned while some of the CO2 that would otherwise be emitted is captured, to be stored below ground “forever.” Often CCS project developers claim they will reduce CO2 emissions by 90 percent when in reality they capture as little as 7 percent. In many cases, the industry will actually increase CO2 emissions, as when captured CO2 is used to increase oil production.
CCS presents a challenge of unprecedented complexity and urgency for the environmental and climate movements. These industrial projects will impact every region of the United States—for example through thousands of miles of new, dangerous pipelines.
It is unusual for the movements to confront a threat that is so scientifically and legally complex and that is unfolding so fast, risking catastrophic delay of meaningful climate action, and is being billed—through massive deception—as a “solution.”
We are working to increase the chances of safety for communities in the path of planned CCS projects, to help clear the way for truly sustainable energy transitions, and to contribute to the prevention of climate catastrophe through:
The Carbon Capture and Storage Facts website. The website is hosted and administered by SEHN, on behalf of a large number of individuals, local grassroots and community groups, and larger organizations working to advance public policies based on science and justice.
Public presentations. Please see our webinars page where many of these are linked.
Fact sheet on “CO2: Normal Physiology & Hazards and Risks.”
Newsletter articles, including:
The Pore Space Beneath Our Feet: What We Mean When We Say Carbon Storage
Serving as experts for the media. See our Newsletter archive for each month’s “SEHN in the News.”
Sign-on letters and comments to agencies like the Pipeline Safety and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). See the November 2022 PHMSA Sign On Letter.
Convening an ongoing, national CCS plenary. Interested individuals and groups, please contact SEHN at moreinfo@sehn.org.