U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ANNOUNCES ITS INTENT TO LAUNCH A RESPONSIBLE CARBON MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced in the Federal Register its intent to launch a “Responsible Carbon Management Initiative.” The Initiative aims to encourage and recognize project developers and others in industry to pursue the highest levels of safety, environmental stewardship, accountability, community engagement, and societal benefits in carbon management projects.
Managing carbon emissions at scale through the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial facilities and power plants, removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, conversion of captured carbon emissions into low and zero-emission products, and the transport and geologic storage of CO2 is essential to meeting our climate goals and the 1.5°C target. When deployed responsibly, carbon management is complementary, and not a replacement for, expanded and parallel efforts to reduce emissions through energy efficiency, renewable, nuclear power, clean hydrogen, and other clean energy technologies and measures.
“With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, over a hundred carbon management projects have been publicly announced in the United States, with many more likely to emerge in the near term,” said Brad Crabtree, FECM’s Assistant Secretary. “That’s why this Responsible Carbon Management Initiative is so important—it will provide a framework for encouraging and recognizing best practices in the development of carbon management projects and for fostering transparency and learning through greater data and information sharing among industry, governments, communities, and other stakeholders.”
FECM is seeking public input on the Principles and the general approach to the Initiative. The draft Principles for the Responsible Carbon Management Initiative can be accessed for review and comment in the Federal Register here. FECM encourages all stakeholders, including industry, nongovernmental organizations, labor, state and local officials, Tribal leaders, community organizations, and the public, to take this opportunity to help shape what a responsible carbon management future should look like.
The Principles currently outlined in the Responsible Carbon Management Initiative include the following eleven categories: Community Engagement; Workforce Development and Quality Jobs; Tribal Consultation; Environmental Justice; Environmental Responsibility; Air and Water Quality; Regulatory Requirements; Health and Safety; Emergency Response; Transparency; and Long-Term Stewardship. The deadline for submitting comments is September 11, 2023.
Once the Principles are finalized, project developers can publicly pledge to abide by them by filling out an intake form that requests details from project developers on how they will address the Principles and incorporate them into the implementation of their projects. FECM intends to make this information public on its website.
FECM will also encourage non-industry stakeholders to consider formally endorsing the Principles. Through their endorsement, these stakeholders will affirm the important role that carbon management plays in meeting climate goals, including net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, along with the importance of delivering economic and environmental benefits to communities hosting carbon management projects.
As noted in the Federal Register notice, interested industry and non-industry stakeholders can indicate their early support of the principles and the Initiative by contacting responsiblecarbonmanagementinitiative@hq.doe.gov.
FECM minimizes environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels and industrial processes while working to achieve net-zero emissions across our economy. Priority areas of technology work include carbon capture, carbon conversion, carbon dioxide removal, carbon dioxide transport and storage, hydrogen production with carbon management, methane emissions reduction, and critical minerals production. To learn more, visit the FECM website, sign up for FECM news announcements, and visit the NETL website.
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