Big Oil is pushing to greenlight the first-ever carbon capture and storage scam in California.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) prolongs the burning of fossil fuels and poses serious public health risks, despite Big Oil falsely advertising it as a climate solution. These projects have consistently proven ineffective, unsafe, and expensive. Fossil fuel corporations claim that the technology can capture carbon dioxide waste from polluting facilities and store it underground. But in reality, carbon capture is just one of many schemes that fossil fuel corporations use to divert critical resources away from clean, renewable energy.
Big Oil’s plan to store carbon dioxide waste in a Kern County oil field is no exception. It will prolong operations at the Elk Hills gas plant by as many as 26 extra years, delaying California’s transition away from polluting fossil fuels. To transport carbon dioxide, this project relies on 13 miles of pipelines, which will pass within a few miles of an elementary school. The threat of pipeline leaks, air pollution, earthquakes, and water contamination jeopardizes the health of nearby communities in Buttonwillow, Taft, and Bakersfield.
Big Oil is determined to push California’s first carbon capture project forward in Kern County, which sets a dangerous precedent for the entire state if approved. This project will put the public health and safety of California’s Central Valley at risk, a region already burdened with the worst air pollution in the country. Tell the Environmental Protection Agency to stand up to Big Oil and reject this dangerous carbon capture proposal in Kern County.
Related resources
Guidance for policymakers on carbon capture and storage (The Climate Center, March 2022)
The false promise of carbon capture as a climate solution (Scientific American, March 2024)