Carbon Management Provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law on November 15, contains the largest single investment in carbon management provisions since the Department of Energy (DOE) began funding carbon capture research in 1997.
Importantly, IIJA takes a holistic approach to building out the carbon management ecosystem by funding four major policy areas: carbon capture, utilization & storage (CCUS) research, development, and demonstration (RD&D); carbon transport and storage infrastructure & permitting; carbon utilization market development; and carbon removal priorities.
In conjunction with the 45Q tax credit enhancements proposed in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), IIJA is one half of the equation that adds up to the biggest proposed investment into carbon capture commercialization ever put forward by a single government.
Summarizing the tandem roles of IIJA and BBBA: IIJA’s policy provisions will help fund the RD&D and infrastructure development necessary to put carbon management on a path to midcentury decarbonization goals. BBBA’s provisions, if passed, will undergird the market incentive to invest in carbon management projects for the foreseeable future. Together, these bills represent a significant, critical and timely down payment on the United States’ fully decarbonized future.
