DOE Releases Carbon Management Strategy, Outlining Steps to Enable These Technologies to Support a Net-Zero Emissions Future Public Comment DEADLINE December 10, 2024

October 17, 2024

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(U.S. Department of Energy) The Department Seeks Input to Ensure Planned Activities to Scale-Up Carbon Management Infrastructure are Enacted Responsibly and with Stakeholder Support -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the release of a Carbon Management Strategy for public comment. The Strategy provides a comprehensive roadmap for the remainder of the decade that outlines the diverse tools and approaches DOE will use to develop and deploy carbon management solutions in line with President Biden and Vice President Harris’ climate, economic, and social priorities.

Carbon management systems capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial sources, power plants, and/or directly from the atmosphere, and transport the CO₂ for permanent storage or conversion into low-carbon fuels, chemicals, building materials and other products. The Strategy sets out a path for accelerating the innovation and deployment of carbon management technologies and infrastructure essential to achieving the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic climate and clean energy agenda and its goals of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by 2050—all while bolstering domestic industry and manufacturing and high-wage jobs in energy and industrial communities and regions across our nation. At the same time, the Strategy outlines how DOE’s work on carbon management prioritizes community engagement, delivers clear benefits to local workers, and provides robust environmental protections in line with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance environmental justice and equity.

A team spanning offices across DOE collaborated to develop the Strategy. Now DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) are releasing a draft of the report with the purpose of incorporating public input into the Carbon Management Strategy prior to its finalization. The draft Strategy can be accessed for review and comment here.

DOE’s Carbon Management Strategy was informed by extensive stakeholder engagement with communities and organizations to bring a wide range of views about the role carbon management should play in decarbonizing the economy, as well as by other DOE analyses such as its Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Reports. The Strategy is focused on near-term actions that can position carbon management to scale as needed in subsequent decades. The near-term Strategy through 2030 incorporates the following components:

Focusing research, development, demonstration, and deployment funding on priority use cases;
Building out CO₂ transportation and storage infrastructure where it likely will be needed most in the future;
Supporting the implementation of effective and evidence-driven policies and regulations related to carbon management at other federal agencies;
Engaging communities and workers to ensure projects deliver benefits and mitigate potential risks to public health and the environment; and
Supporting climate diplomacy efforts to accelerate the adoption of carbon management at scale globally in a way that aligns with the Paris Agreement.

DOE is soliciting additional comments from stakeholders, including industry, nongovernmental organizations, labor, state and local officials, tribal governments, community organizations, and the public. This input will assist DOE in ensuring the Strategy meets the needs of stakeholders and communities involved in deploying carbon management projects—enabling these communities to do so with the greatest climate, economic, and environmental benefit, while also actively addressing concerns about the safety and efficacy of carbon management technologies.

Click here to download the draft Carbon Management Strategy. Comments on the report must be submitted electronically to carbonmanagementstrategy@hq.doe.gov by December 10, 2024.

Visit DOE’s FECM and OCED websites to learn more about DOE’s work to accelerate the deployment of carbon management solutions—helping the United States build a clean energy and industrial economy that harnesses the nation’s industrial base, local resources, workforce, and expertise, while also providing environmental and economic benefits to communities and regional economies. READ MORE

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General recommendations (Carbon 180)

Excerpt from Carbon 180: Given its potential to shape the future of the carbon management industry, this strategy prompts DOE to deliver global climate benefits while directly investing in communities. Equity, transparency, and environmentally responsible practices must become core to industry development to ensure the success of this strategy and strengthen the credibility of carbon management initiatives. This strategy should balance rapid innovation with durable public and environmental health and safety protections.

Below, we provide detailed feedback and recommendations to align the strategy with purposefully advancing responsible, equitable, and community-driven carbon management projects. We also include direct edits to the text of DOE's Strategy (denoted in red). These reflect our best attempt to provide the office with high-level feedback and specific recommendations to translate that feedback into strategy language. READ MORE