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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) discussed Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS), nuclear energy, and confusing messages coming from President Biden regarding apparent contradictions between their climate ambitions and environmental justice with White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Brenda Mallory at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.
Senator Cramer pointed to recommendations from the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council in their Justice40 document which explicitly said projects such as CCUS, direct air capture, procurement of nuclear power, highway and transmission expansion, and infrastructure repair will not benefit communities.
“I’m looking at the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council’s Justice40 [document] and some of the conclusions they drew. Some of the conclusions for example of the types of projects that will not benefit the community. Here’s a list: fossil fuel procurement, development, infrastructure repair that would in any way extend lifespan or production capacity, transmission system investments to facilitate fossil-fired generation or any related subsidy; highway expansion; road improvements or automobile infrastructure, other than electric vehicle charging stations; industrial scale bioenergy,” said Senator Cramer.
Senator Cramer reminded Chair Mallory the Biden Administration’s own plans prioritize emerging technologies like CCUS and emission-free nuclear power generation.
“What [is] critical to all of this in my mind is the prioritization of commercialization of emerging technologies, particularly in the power sector, that would also reduce emissions, technologies like Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage, which is listed as one of the things that don’t help communities. I want to remind you that President Biden’s emission goals say that CCUS and nuclear are critical components to reaching the targets, and then you have this Environmental Justice Advisory report stating they believe CCUS will not benefit communities and [the Council on Environmental Quality] says environmental justice considerations must be incorporated into all permitting decisions. Does the Administration actually support CCUS and nuclear? Do they actually support all communities or are there only certain communities? And if so, why are they simultaneously making it harder for these types of projects to get permitted?” asked Senator Cramer.
“What you read, the recommendations we heard from the Environmental Justice Advisory Council, that is their reflection of their authentic voices. That doesn’t mean that every single item there the President shares exactly that view with,” responded CEQ Chair Mallory. “We think that technology is an important part of the solution for decarbonizing the environment. We have to not only work hard to reduce the emissions of carbon, but we also are probably not going to be able to do it sufficiently without having some technology that can help remove environment.”
Senator Cramer pushed back on CEQ Chair Mallory’s response highlighting the confusing messages coming from President Biden and hostility towards fossil fuels coming from the Administration. He emphasized the fact that CCUS and nuclear are part of the solution to decreasing our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.
“I think it’s very confusing, quite honestly, I don’t think there’s anything clear about it. I wonder if anybody when they do these surveys or they’re talking to these communities if they ever ask the question, ‘how would it be if your natural gas gets turned off in the middle of winter? Or how about the air conditioning gets turned off because there’s no electricity because God forbid we have nuclear power or carbon capture utilization on a coal-fired power plant, and we’re only going to rely on the wind on the days that it blows.’ Frankly, this is cartoonish, this Justice40 document,” said Senator Cramer. “I don’t think the President is clear at all. I think the President sends confusing messages. I think investors see them as confusing if not hostile. I prefer him to remain committed to CCUS and nuclear as parts of the solution.”
