Popping the carbon capture bubble

Jun 02, 2023 View in browser   By Debra Kahn and Jordan Wolman THE WEEK THAT WAS An artist’s rendering of Project Bison, the largest proposed direct air capture facility in the United States. | Courtesy of Carbon Capture CARBON CAPTURE DELAYS — Carbon capture projects are all the rage right now, but investors and corporate buyers may want to count their chickens. A major project in Wyoming that's planning to deliver emissions reductions for Microsoft, among others, is running way behind schedule, Corbin Hiar reports for POLITICO's E&E News. California-based CarbonCapture Inc. had originally planned to bring its direct air capture plant online by the end of this year, but still hasn’t determined where to site its direct air capture plant or how to power it. And Frontier Carbon Solutions LLC, the firm CarbonCapture is relying on to transport and store the carbon, also doesn't have its permit to inject CO2 underground yet. “We were a bit over optimistic about in 2023 launching our first couple modules,” Jonas Lee, CarbonCapture’s chief commercial officer, told Corbin. “Quite frankly, we have been just a little bit naïve about all of the work that needed to go into getting something ready for us to put carbon dioxide downhole.” Another big project is also delayed. In February, Occidental Petroleum Corp. told investors the DAC plant it’s working on with Carbon Engineering near Odessa, Texas, wouldn’t start up until mid-2025, rather than by the end of next year. Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub blamed the delay in part on the “current supply chain environment.” Carbon removal backers are unfazed: “Focusing on the missed deadline, and not all of the achievements and accomplishments that have been made, I think, would deter us from building the industry that we really do need — not just in the next few years, but over the next 50 and 100 years," said Anu Khan, deputy director of science and innovation at the advocacy group Carbon180.   GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE.     WASHINGTON WATCH ANTI-ESG STUFF HAPPENING — The debt ceiling might have it beat, but there’s a lot of buzz right now around Republican attempts to dismantle environmental, social and governance investment principles. On Capitol Hill, it’s starting to look like substance might come of House Republicans’ ESG working group after all, Eleanor Mueller reports. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) said the group’s members — who sit on the Financial Services Committee — met twice in the past week. “It’s going to be moving fairly quickly,” Huizenga said. The group is now in the process of compiling its preliminary findings and recommendations, including the possibility of "legislative action." Hearings are being targeted for July. Down in Texas, one of the birthplaces of the anti-ESG movement, Republican infighting threatens to derail several key bills as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pushes for a special session of the Legislature to further the cause. Patrick outlined more than two dozen bills that died in the House this year that he wants another chance to pass — three of which aim to protect fossil fuel interests from pressure to decarbonize, as Adam Aton of POLITICO’s E&E News reports. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) already signed a law this year restricting insurance companies in Texas from considering ESG factors when setting rates. EXTREMES STATE FARM ISN'T THERE — As State Farm customers in California, we're very interested in the fallout from the insurer's surprise announcement last week that it would stop writing new policies in the Golden State. Other insurers could follow suit, Tom Frank reports for POLITICO's E&E News. “The other insurers learned on Friday, and now they are all meeting to decide, how do we respond? Do we follow the lead?” said Michael Wara, director of Stanford's Climate and Energy Policy Program. “If experience is any guide, probably they will. It’s like they’ve been given permission. If it was some small insurer, maybe no one would care. But this is State Farm." It's the same story as usual: Insurers want to be able to set rates based on forward-looking models that take climate change into account, rather than just the past 20 years' worth of data, as California's regulations require. But they also don't want to go through the lengthy hearings that raising rates precipitously would require, resulting in the current stalemate. Tom has you covered, even if State Farm doesn't. MAYBE STATE FARM KNOWS SOMETHING WE DON'T — A new study finds that disclosing wildfire risk in California results in lower home prices. A report released Thursday by researchers from Resources for the Future, the University of Kentucky and Bayer found a 4.3 percent penalty, or about $24,000, for homes that disclosed wildfire risk versus ones that didn't, from March 2015 through March 2022, Anne Mulkern reports for POLITICO's E&E News. “It actually shows up in price, and that makes sense,” said Margaret Walls, director of RFF's climate risk and resilience program. “And that means disclosure is doing its job. It's conveying something to people.” AROUND THE NATION UNIONS VS. ROBOTS — Legislation passed by the California Assembly on Wednesday would require a human to be on board a self-driving truck, demonstrating unions’ political clout in the state. The bill, CA AB316, is a priority of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which is seeking to protect trucking jobs from an automated future as self-driving technology evolves and becomes a viable possibility. Two companies, including Alphabet-owned Waymo, operate self-driving cars in San Francisco but autonomous trucks are not yet in use on public roads in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t said whether he would sign the measure into law. Wes Venteicher has more. YOU TELL US GAME ON — Happy Friday! Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn, and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang. Reach us at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, jwolman@politico.com and aprang@politico.com. Want more? You can have it. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free. That’s sustainability! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — European bank regulators are warning about a “clear increase” in greenwashing by financial firms, the Financial Times reports. — A federal judge has cleared the path to trial for young climate activists suing the U.S. over its role in climate change. The Associated Press has more. — Arizona is planning to halt construction on some Phoenix-area housing developments, citing a shortage of groundwater, according to the New York Times.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW.       Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman Allison Prang @AllisonPrang   Follow us

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