Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have introduced bipartisan legislation to support expanded tax credits for carbon removal projects — a sign that carbon capture subsidies will remain on the table in the Republican-controlled Congress.
The bill, known as the Carbon Dioxide Removal Investment Act, was introduced on Wednesday and faces a steep hill to climb to pass in the lame-duck session. But the bipartisan support for carbon capture indicates Republican backing for the green technology as the Trump administration is expected to roll back various Biden administration climate tax credits and rules.
The lawmakers insisted this week that carbon dioxide removal, which involves the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through capture and storage technologies, is key for the United States to meet climate goals.
“Due to climate change, Coloradans are facing rising temperatures, increasingly destructive wildfires, and historic drought,” Bennet said in a statement. “In order to meet our climate goals, we need to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions — and scale up technologies to capture and remove carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.”
The National Academies has estimated that by 2050, across the globe, around 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide will need to be removed from the atmosphere annually. The U.S. alone will have to sequester roughly 1 billion to 2 billion tons each year.
Through the Carbon Dioxide Removal Investment Act, Bennet and Murkowski are seeking to boost support for several carbon removal projects, such as direct air capture, tree planting, biomass, and more.
While there are federal incentives for carbon capture and sequestration, such as the Section 45Q tax credit extended through the Democratic-passed Inflation Reduction Act, the lawmakers argue it does not go far enough. To expand this support, the bill would establish a “technology-neutral” credit for carbon dioxide removal projects — particularly those ready to be deployed right away.
Specifically, this would provide a credit of $250 per metric ton of carbon removed for qualifying carbon removal projects, except for those targeting carbon from biomass. These projects would see a credit of $110 per metric ton of carbon removed.
To qualify, projects must be able to store removed carbon for at least 1,000 years, provide net carbon dioxide removal based on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions assessment, and have a high confidence interval for removing carbon based on public demonstrations and field trials. Additional requirements apply for biomass and marine-based carbon dioxide removal projects.
Also, projects already in line to receive the 45Q tax credit would not be eligible for the expanded credit “to avoid double dipping,” the lawmakers said.
“Alaska possesses unique characteristics that make it a perfect candidate to be a national leader in carbon dioxide removal,” Murkowski said in a statement. “This tax credit will help jump-start critical projects in this burgeoning industry, helping Alaska realize enormous untapped economic potential.”
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The proposed tax credit was warmly welcomed by industry players on both sides of the aisle, including the National Wildlife Federation, ClearPath Action, and Carbon Removal Alliance.
“Through technology-neutral support that doesn’t pick winners, this bill creates a level playing field that will advance innovations with the biggest climate impact while supporting new jobs and maintaining U.S. leadership in the carbon removal sector,” said Christina DeConcini, director of government affairs at the World Resources Institute. “This bill demonstrates the established bipartisan support for carbon removal, and we encourage other members of Congress to join Senators Bennet and Murkowski in advancing this policy.”