Direct Air Capture Funding Wastes Money on False Climate Solution - Food and Water Watch
Direct Air Capture Funding Wastes Money on False Climate Solution | Food & Water Watch
Direct Air Capture Funding Wastes Money on False Climate Solution
Federal funds would be better spent on proven clean energy projects
Published Aug 11, 2023
Federal funds would be better spent on proven clean energy projects
Today, the Department of Energy announced that it is awarding over $1 billion in grants to two direct air capture projects – one of which is overseen by oil giant Occidental.
In response, Food & Water Watch Policy Director Jim Walsh released the following statement:
“Direct air capture is expensive, unproven and will ultimately make almost no difference in reducing climate pollution. The technology requires substantial energy to operate; capturing just a quarter of our annual carbon emissions
would require all of the power currently generated in the country.
“Even if the technology were effective, there are still serious questions about whether there is a safe and effective way to store the captured carbon dioxide. A more practical and effective approach would be to invest money in wind and solar energy – which would be far more effective in actually reducing climate pollution.”
“Above all, fossil fuel interests see a clear benefit in promoting direct air capture as a means to preserve the dominance of dirty fossil fuels. The federal government is handing them hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies, when it should be pursuing policies to end the era of fossil fuels.”
Press Contact: Peter Hart
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Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”