Legal Pathways to Widespread Carbon Capture and Sequestration

Despite competing views about climate change policy, the time is ripe to drive carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) forward . National and state investment in and support of CCS are completely consistent with the Donald Trump Administration’s goals to invest in infrastructure projects, continue U .S . reliance on fossil fuels, and create jobs . This Article, excerpted from Michael B . Gerrard & John C . Dernbach, eds ., Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States (forthcoming in 2018 from ELI), addresses the use of CCS to achieve significant reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2050, and explains why its widespread adoption in the United States has not yet occurred . The authors describe the potential of CCS for achieving deep decarbonization of the U .S . power sector, explain the key components of CCS, and identify and recommend several federal and state legal reforms necessary to drive it forward .