Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

2 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

3 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

3 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

3 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

3 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

3 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

3 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

3 days ago
Carbon Capture Projects Pay Billions to Polluters but Aren't Worth Much to Californians
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 9 months ago on
October 9, 2024

Dolores Huerta and Nayamin Martinez opine that California's climate progress faces a new threat as the fossil fuel industry pushes for carbon capture projects. (CalMatters/CatchLight Local/Larry Valenzuela)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Perhaps no other state in the nation has done more to fight climate change than California.

Dolores Huerta portrait

Dolores Huerta

Nayamin Martinez portrait Central California Environmental Justice Network

Nayamin Martinez

Opinion

We stood up to the powerful auto industry and passed the first U.S. ban on new gasoline-powered car sales. The state is suing the world’s largest oil producers for decades of climate deception. Soon we’ll be stopping all new fracking as part of an historic plan to end oil extraction across the Golden State.

Even businesses, municipalities and advocates are uniting around an ambitious goal of achieving 100% clean power by 2045 by investing billions in renewable energy and eliminating the root cause of climate change — burning fossil fuels.

Now we appear poised to undermine this progress by opening California’s doors to the fossil fuel industry’s latest greenwashing scheme: carbon capture and storage. Let’s hope our politicians and environmental regulators, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, reconsider.

Fossil Fuel Industry’s Push for Carbon Capture

The fossil fuel industry is spending millions to persuade the public that carbon capture is a viable solution to the climate crisis, but in reality, it’s a failed technology. And a growing number of climate scientists and energy experts, including the International Energy Agency, agree.

Generally carbon capture and storage refers to technology that captures carbon dioxide from industrial or power plant emissions and puts it underground, where it is not expected to contribute to global warming.

But the problems with carbon capture and storage are vast. For starters, according to Jonathan Foley, former head of the California Academy of the Sciences, even after decades of investment in research and development and millions in subsidies, carbon capture technology has only captured a few seconds’ worth of our yearly greenhouse gas emissions.

That’s hardly a dent.

Furthermore, carbon capture extends the operations of the polluting infrastructure and increases our reliance on fossil fuels. Every dollar spent on carbon capture and storage takes precious resources away from real climate solutions, thereby delaying the transition to a clean energy future.

Risks to California Communities

Most troubling, though, are the risks that carbon capture and storage infrastructure pose to California communities already overburdened by fossil fuel pollution.

Make Your Voice Heard

GV Wire encourages vigorous debate from people and organizations on local, state, and national issues. Submit your op-ed to bmcewen@gvwire.com for consideration.

This technology does nothing to address the lung-damaging pollutants caused by extracting oil and gas, and it dramatically increases the likelihood of a dangerous — or even fatal — gas leak. There have been at least 25 carbon dioxide pipeline leaks in the U.S. from 2002 to 2021, including one that caused 200 people to be evacuated and 45 to be hospitalized in Satartia, Mississippi for years ago.

So what’s the industry’s motive for promoting a flawed, dangerous and essentially defunct technology? Easy: to delay the phaseout of fossil fuels while seizing billions in state and federal dollars. Adding carbon capture to a project, and snapping up the federal incentives that come with it, would allow oil and gas producers to continue generating revenue by keeping polluting infrastructure going for decades.

California’s Largest Oil Producer’s Carbon Capture Plans

For instance, California’s largest oil producer is California Resources Corp., in Long Beach, which merged with Aera Energy in Bakersfield, following California Resource’s $6 billion bankruptcy. The merged company has proposed converting two old, unproductive oil fields in Kern County into California’s first carbon capture and storage sites.

The state could have required $1 billion in orphaned wells bonds, but instead it let California Resources off the hook. Now the conversion of both sites makes the company eligible for more than $15 billion in tax credits for just one of the carbon capture projects, according to MIT research.

Both projects’ impact on air quality would be significant, according to their draft environmental impact reports. Despite this, Kern County’s Planning Commission recently voted to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve California Resources’ carbon capture project, and commissioners may vote on the pending Aera project soon. Final approval of the projects would be terrible news for all Californians, but especially for the families who live in nearby Buttonwillow, Taft, Tupman, Bakersfield and Lost Hills, who have borne the brunt of the fossil fuel industry’s pollution for decades.

Our regulators and politicians should honor California’s commitment to fight climate change and get off fossil fuels, and they should block any industry attempts to bring carbon capture and storage to our door.

Approving California Resources’ permits would open the floodgates to similar projects across Greater Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Sutter County, and it would subject even more communities to yet another fossil fuel scheme.

California has banned some of the fossil fuel industry’s most harmful practices, and we’re seizing the promise of renewable energy at every turn. Now we have the opportunity to prevent oil and gas corporations from squandering billions in public funds, to protect Kern County families and to lead the nation and world in denouncing the carbon capture farce.

Let’s recognize this opportunity and stop any carbon capture permits before it’s too late.

About the Authors

Dolores Huerta is president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation and co-founded the United Farm Workers union with César Chávez. She is a longtime civil rights activist and community organizer. Nayamin Martinez is the executive director of the Central California Environmental Justice Network.

About CalMatters

CalMatters is the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering statewide issues that affect all Californians.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

DON'T MISS

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

DON'T MISS

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

DON'T MISS

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

DON'T MISS

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

DON'T MISS

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

UP NEXT

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

UP NEXT

July 4th Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Founding Fathers

UP NEXT

Presidential Election Reveals Big Shift in California Voting Patterns. Will It Last?

UP NEXT

From Victims to Perpetrators: Israeli Soldiers’ Nazi Comparisons and the Unfolding War Crimes in Gaza

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

CA’s Population Shrank in Trump’s First Immigration Crackdown. It Could Happen Again

UP NEXT

Controversial Climate Rule That Could Raise Gas Prices About to Take Effect

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

3 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

3 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

3 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

3 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

1 day ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

1 day ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

2 days ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 days ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked California Highway Patrol motorcycle and tow truck along Highway 99 near North Avenue, missing ...

2 hours ago

A 22-year-old suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked CHP motorcycle and tow truck on Highway 99 near Fresno, narrowly missing an officer and bystanders, CHP said Saturday, July 5, 2025. (CHP)
2 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A service member of a drone unit of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces controls a heavy combat drone while it flies over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk Region, Ukraine June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

An Israeli tank maneuvers in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
3 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned nearly 80,000 acres as of Sunday, July 6, 2025, morning, prompting widespread evacuation orders and warnings across three counties. (CalFire)
3 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk gets in a Tesla car as he leaves a hotel in Beijing, China May 31, 2023. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

A search dog operates at Camp Mystic after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 5, 2025. (Reuters/Sergio Flores)
3 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

2024 Democratic National Convention
3 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
1 day ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend