The following statement on the passage of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 federal spending package may be attributed to Madelyn Morrison, Director of Government Affairs for the Carbon Capture Coalition, a collaboration of companies, labor unions, and nonprofits working to build support for carbon management policies:
“It is no secret that the annual federal appropriations process has faced many headwinds over the past several years, necessitating a slew of continuing resolutions. Given these challenges, it is encouraging to see a final package that fully funds many essential energy, environment, and innovation technology programs across government on its way to enactment. However, we are disappointed to see critical, foundational carbon management programs funded under the US Department of Energy (DOE) have been further reduced by nearly $120 million since Congress last passed a full appropriations package in FY2024. In addition, the bill repurposes $3.5 billion in widely-supported funding enacted under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to support other program areas at DOE.
“Robust annual appropriations for core carbon management RDD&D programs across government, paired with funds appropriated through IIJA, are crucial to realizing economies of scale and maintaining America’s position as the global leader in demonstrating and deploying these innovative energy technologies. Pulling back on the US government’s strong support for foundational carbon management programs risks ceding long-standing leadership in the sector. If we do not properly fund the continued RDD&D of these technologies, companies will instead invest these billions of dollars in private investments in other nations that are doubling down on supportive policies and funding for their deployment.
“Recent federal policy advancements, including the enhancement of the foundational 45Q tax credit, have been transformational in ensuring these technologies can scale at the pace required to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding energy economy. However, these policies must be paired with robust, sustained funding for deployment-crucial carbon management programs administered by DOE. To be clear, reduced funding for RDD&D programs for carbon capture, utilization, transport, and storage at DOE ultimately translates into a slower pace of deployment of these technologies at a time when the US power sector continues to grow, and consumers are demanding cleaner energy.
“While carbon management technologies will not single-handedly alleviate the current surge in energy demand, it is increasingly clear that these tools are essential to meet the urgency of the moment. As we look ahead to the next annual funding cycle, the Coalition will continue to work with Members of Congress on a bipartisan basis to restore and build upon the important federal investments needed to realize the economywide deployment of carbon management technologies.”
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The Carbon Capture Coalition is a nonpartisan collaboration of companies, unions, conservation and environmental policy organizations, building federal policy support to enable economywide, commercial-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies. This includes carbon capture, removal, transport, reuse, and storage from industrial facilities, power plants, and the ambient air.