Louisiana Decision Support Tool

(Carbon Action Alliance) Explore the social and environmental factors considered for building carbon management projects in Louisiana. -- This StoryMap contains the Louisiana Decision Support Tool for carbon management (Decision Support Tool). The Decision Support Tool is a public resource that includes three interactive maps that allow users to view the social, environmental, and comprehensive factors that communities, state, local and tribal governments, project developers, and other stakeholders can consider when discussing carbon management projects. The Decision Support Tool does not grant approval for project development. Its purpose is to inform meaningful discussions to ensure community input is heard and valued and projects are thoughtfully located.

This tool provides everyone an opportunity to engage in the decision-making process related to our country’s energy transition and is the first to consider both affected communities and natural environments when evaluating the responsible growth of carbon management projects.

These maps will help you review the potential social and environmental impacts of a carbon management project, as well as identify development locations that would generate the fewest negative impacts and maximize positive outcomes. We also customized the tool to reflect the preferences and priorities of the people of Louisiana, learned through a public outreach process. Learn more about how we engaged community members and incorporated their feedback into the creation of this tool in our outreach section .

Compare GPI's Louisiana Decision Support Tool to EJ Screen, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) environmental justice screening tool, and the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

The Great Plains Institute (GPI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that accelerates the transition to net-zero carbon emissions for the benefit of people, the economy, and the environment.

The Carbon Action Alliance is an initiative of the Great Plains Institute that brings together a diverse set of stakeholders working to inform the public about carbon management opportunities, address decarbonization challenges, support project deployment, and benefit communities.

Louisiana is an ideal carbon capture and storage location, with pre-existing infrastructure, geological potential, and well-established regulations. Many power, industrial, and direct air capture companies have expressed interest or announced projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the state. This interest from project developers had led to an abundance of questions from Louisiana communities about project locations and regulations. GPI chose Louisiana for the first iteration of the Decision Support Tool to help answer these questions and support informed decision-making in Louisiana's carbon management initiatives.

Louisiana has recognized that carbon capture can help meet its climate goals. In 2022, Governor John Bel Edwards’ Climate Initiatives Task Force approved the state’s first-ever Climate Action Plan , recognizing carbon management's critical role in addressing high-intensity and hard-to-abate emissions that will be necessary to reach net zero. The state has regulations for the injection, reuse, and storage of CO₂, a process for long-term stewardship of CO₂, and a trust fund to manage and monitor the stored CO₂. In 2023, the state passed legislation to notify parishes about CO₂ storage well applications and give them additional revenue from projects. The EPA is also in the process of approving Louisiana’s application for Class VI primacy to regulate underground CO₂ storage. Once the state has primacy, it will be positioned to efficiently process permit applications with regulations that will be equal to or potentially more stringent than the EPA’s, providing another reason for project operators to be interested in locating in the state.

Louisiana has many industrial projects producing concentrated CO₂ emissions, making the state an excellent candidate for climate solutions like carbon management. Many of these facilities are large enough to qualify for the Section 45Q carbon capture tax credit, which provides funds to companies creating carbon storage projects. The state also has existing pipeline infrastructure and rights-of-way for carbon transport—which reduces the need to build new infrastructure—and oil and gas operators and a labor force with the knowledge to make carbon capture projects work. In the map below are facilities in Louisiana that are eligible for federal funding. READ MORE