News
Companies Are Poised to Inject Millions of Tons of Carbon Underground. Will It Stay Put?
A new report highlights the risk 120,000 abandoned oil and gas wells pose to carbon dioxide storage in Louisiana, home to more proposals to pump the greenhouse gas underground than any other state.
By Nicholas Kusnetz
After more than a century of pulling carbon from underground, a rush is underway to pump it back down. Companies have applied for scores of permits across the country to inject carbon dioxide deep into the earth. Several projects have already been approved.
Related Knowledge Center: Carbon capture
State of Play
The federal government is investing heavily in the development of carbon capture and storage (or sequestration), which offers the enticing prospect of preventing carbon dioxide emissions produced during combustion from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. But the technologies involved, while proven, remain expensive, an obstacle to widespread adoption.