SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Direct Air Capture Funding Wastes Money on False Climate Solution
Federal funds would be better spent on proven clean energy projects.
Aug 11, 2023
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 was 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.”
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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 was 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.”
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 was 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.”
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.