Dear Editor,
As a lifelong Californian, I’m proud of the significant strides our state has taken in setting nation-leading goals that help clean our air and combat climate change. However, as we continue to see reports indicating that we are nowhere close to achieving these goals, the time has come for us to ask whether our policymakers are doing enough. After all, if we truly want to reach these goals, we must explore all possible avenues.
One of these emerging pathways is through carbon capture and storage (CCS). CCS has been used in the Gulf Coast region for over 50 years to mitigate carbon emissions, helping to lower the region’s footprint while maintaining its growing energy and manufacturing sectors. These efforts have been remarkably successful, with studies showing that retrofitting a manufacturing facility or oil or natural gas refinery with CCS technology can help to reduce its CO2 emissions by up to 90%.
Not only would CCS help California clean its air and bring us far closer to reaching our emission reduction goals, but its status as an emerging industry would bring thousands of jobs to our state. Here in San Bernardino, new CCS projects will mean new opportunities, investment, and growth.
With an important election on the horizon, I urge California’s lawmakers to recognize CCS’s bright future and embrace it as part of a technology-neutral approach to reaching our climate goals.
Best,
Adan Hernandez
