Digging into California’s Carbon Capture Plans

Carbon capture and storage, often referred to by insiders as CCS, isn’t exactly a new concept — the first carbon capture plan was proposed back in the 1930s. But recently, as the stark reality of the climate crisis has set in, interest in the idea has ticked up considerably, particularly among government and industry actors.

Many frontline activists, environmental groups, and scientists say that’s a problem, pointing to the ways in which carbon capture and storage throws a lifeline to the fossil fuel industry, perpetuates environmental injustices, and diverts attention and resources from true climate solutions.

Maricruz Ramiriz, a Community Organizer with the Center on Race Poverty and the Environment in California’s Central Valley, and Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, a Staff Attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law program, join Terra Verde host and Earth Island Journal Managing Editor Zoe Loftus-Farren to discuss carbon capture and storage in California, and the ways in which its deployment could pose a risk to both people and planet.