USE IT Act: Reducing Emissions Through Carbon Use Innovation, Not Regulation

Federal Legislation, Opinions, Policy

March 19, 2019

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by Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) (Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works/OurEnergyPolicy) Read the entire piece and comment! Senator Barrasso’s staff will be monitoring the discussion, and OurEnergyPolicy.org will prepare a discussion wrap-up for the Senator in two weeks. The Senator would like comments to the following questions:

What should be the role of carbon capture and utilization technology in addressing climate change?
Which aspect of the USE IT Act would be most impactful in reducing carbon emissions?
What additional policies could support carbon capture technologies?

Congress needs to help make American energy as clean as we can, as fast as we can, without raising costs on consumers. That’s why I, along with a bipartisan group of Senators, introduced the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act, or simply, the USE IT Act. We held a Senate hearing on this bill several weeks ago.

The USE IT Act would encourage the commercial use of man-made carbon dioxide emissions and support the use of carbon capture technology, including direct air capture. The legislation also expedites permitting for carbon dioxide pipelines in order to move the carbon dioxide from where it is captured to where it is stored or used. America should reduce emissions through innovation, not punishing government regulations. The USE IT Act advances that goal.

The USE IT Act is a commonsense piece of legislation to help turn carbon dioxide emissions into valuable products. We can use carbon dioxide to extract oil from wells that wouldn’t otherwise be profitable through a process called enhanced oil recovery. We can capture carbon dioxide and use it to make building materials and carbon fiber. Captured carbon can even be used for medical purposes.

Read expert comments on USE IT: READ MORE

Senators Intro “USE IT” (“Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies”) Act

Carbon capture legislation: a small step on the long corporate climate march (GreenBiz)

ALGAE GETS A BOOST IN AGRICULTURE, CARBON CAPTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY (Algae Biomass Organization)

WHAT ELSE? (Politico’s Morning Energy)

Download draft Bill

WHAT ELSE? The Senate’s NDAA (the National Defense Authorization Act, S. 1790 (116) ) also included EPW Chairman John Barrasso‘s bipartisan bill, S. 383 (116), to support the development of carbon capture and sequestration technology. Backers of the bill say it would help fight climate change while making the economics of carbon capture projects less daunting.

In a statement, Christopher Guith of the Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute said the USE-IT Act’s inclusion is a “meaningful step towards a real-world climate solution,” and he added optimistic comment: “Perhaps more importantly, it demonstrates that climate legislation can be bipartisan.” READ MORE

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