This article first appeared in Carbon Herald. Written by Ross McKenzie, Chief of Staff and SVP Corporate Affairs and Business Development.
In the handful of days since the US presidential election, one of the most persistent questions in the climate sector has been: will carbon removals and renewables developers slow down or pause their construction until the new administration's priorities become clearer?
For Elimini, the answer is a definitive no – we’re moving full steam ahead with our bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) plans.
Fortunately, we’re not operating solely from a place of optimism. Elimini just released its first whitepaper, the Elimini Decarbonization Survey, and many of the findings confirm the need to develop renewable energy projects and carbon removals at scale.
The survey asked the US general population and a number of key audiences – from energy and political leaders to Democrats and Republicans – about their opinions on climate and net zero, renewables, and carbon removal technologies.
For carbon removal developers like Elimini, the call to action is clear. We need to advance realistic energy and climate solutions that align with national priorities, rally institutions to lead the way on decarbonization, and drive collaboration to build awareness and earn trust.
Advancing realistic energy and climate solutions that align with national priorities
With the United States fresh off a presidential election cycle, it may feel like Republicans and Democrats rarely agree; however, the survey uncovered surprising areas of energy and decarbonization where both parties have more in common than they often get credit for. For example, a majority of Democrats and Republicans are concerned about climate change, want the US grid to run entirely on clean energy – but agree renewables alone won’t reduce global temperatures enough – and worry future energy demand will increase the number of blackouts in their state.
This bipartisan concern signals a clear opportunity for the US to continue leading on decarbonization. However, given the federal government’s shift toward prioritizing energy affordability and security, proposed solutions for carbon dioxide removals (CDRs) and renewable energy production need to be realistic in order to scale in the current political environment.
BECCS will tap domestic natural resources that are abundant in regions of the US – sustainably managed forests and geologic formations – to simultaneously generate 24/7 renewable power while permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere. Given its ability to dispatch stable power and generate high-integrity removal technologies, BECCS can be a cornerstone to enable energy security and dominance and has a clear role to play in any administration’s energy approach.
Rallying institutions to lead the way on decarbonization
The survey found that the vast majority of people want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they expect institutions to take on the work – and cost – of decarbonizing.
For most Americans, other considerations like cost-of-living, inflation, jobs, and the economy are higher priorities. For example, while most people want the grid to run on clean power, half are unwilling to see an increase in their utility bill to achieve this. And the higher the increase, the more that commitment drops off: approximately 1 in 4 would accept a 10% rate hike, but only 4% would agree to 40% or higher. At the same time, people think the government and businesses should be doing more to support the development of CDR technologies, indicating a belief that institutions are responsible for solving climate change while individuals are hesitant to personally invest or sacrifice directly.
Everyone has a role to play. Economically it makes sense for organizations to lead the way: the carbon removals market is expected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2050. At Elimini, we see this as an opportunity to:
- Facilitate organizations’ investment in CDR credits – like those produced by BECCS – to offset the CO2 emissions of their operations and demonstrate tangible climate action to their customers.
- Invest billions of dollars to develop carbon removal technologies like BECCS in the United States and beyond.
- Take a holistic approach to development that considers people, nature and climate outcomes.
- Set the gold standard for what the BECCS value chain should look like, from biomass sourcing and energy generation to capturing, transporting, and permanently storing carbon underground.
- Work with federal, state, and local government leaders to foster understanding of and support for decarbonizing technologies.
Drive collaboration to build awareness and earn trust
Perhaps the most unexpected reason we’re confident in our BECCS rollout strategy: almost no one is familiar with carbon removal technologies, and most support them anyway.
While the majority of people think the government should be doing more to support the development of carbon removals – only 84% of people report being unfamiliar with those technologies? And interestingly, once people become acquainted with carbon removals, they tend to become even more supportive.
This means there is a massive opportunity for decarbonizing industries to grow advocacy for CDR technologies through public awareness and education campaigns.
Our industry clearly needs to turn up the volume with key stakeholders – from the general population to political, community, and business leaders and potential customers – about carbon removals. At Elimini, we’re planning to do even more to help tell our story in 2025 and beyond, both independently and in collaboration with other industry players, to earn greater trust and support for realistic solutions like BECCS.
It’s true the US energy landscape has shifted overnight, but it’s important to remember that support for decarbonization exists on both sides of the aisle. It’s up to us to propose solutions like BECCS that can earn bipartisan support, to lead the way on implementing carbon removal technologies, and to better educate key stakeholders to grow our pool of advocates. By working together, we can protect our common future and help our industry reach its full potential – all while unlocking value for our communities, the planet and our organizations.