Grassroots campaign fights carbon capture amid accusations it is only a front for climate groups

Louisiana has become a hot spot for the carbon capture industry. The state has an existing carbon dioxide pipeline network, and it has ideal geology for storing carbon dioxide in underground caverns. It also has a regulatory environment and legislature that welcomes the industry with open arms. 

However, the blooming carbon capture industry is starting to face opposition from the local communities, as has happened with wind, solar and transmission projects. Louisiana lawmakers have passed laws that allow companies to use eminent domain authority for the construction of carbon dioxide pipelines, which is spinning up the local opposition in the Pelican State. 

Well-funded left-wing climate advocacy groups

On top of the threat of being forced to accept the pipelines crossing their property, residents of the area are concerned for their safety, as leaks threaten health and water sources. These residents are in rural parishes — Louisiana's nomenclature for counties — and many are staunchly conservative. They voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump in 2024. 

Running parallel to local carbon-capture opponents are a variety of well-funded left-wing climate advocacy groups. While the two share the same interest in stopping carbon capture, the climate advocacy groups oppose the use of fossil fuels and challenge all oil and gas projects.

The local groups are accused of being associated with these climate advocacy groups, but leaders of the grassroots campaign say it’s just a smear by the companies and political proponents pushing for the carbon capture industry. 

An industry built solely on subsidies

Carbon capture technologies either capture the carbon emissions before they are vented into the atmosphere, or they suck the carbon dioxide out of the air directly through a process called direct air capture (DAC). The captured gas is then stored underground, or is utilized in various industrial processes. 

Carbon capture projects receive tax credits like the wind, solar and battery storage industries. Unlike renewable energy projects, however, the underground storage of carbon dioxide doesn’t produce any product that can be sold for revenue, like the electricity produced by wind and solar farms. 

The 45Q tax credits that go toward carbon capture and storage are the industry’s sole source of revenue, meaning that absent the subsidies, the industry doesn’t exist. 

These tax credits are driving the industry’s expansion, and it has set its sights on Louisiana. According to the Environmental Integrity Project, which opposes the use of any fossil fuels, there are 43 proposed carbon capture projects in Louisiana as of December 2023. That includes nearly two dozen sequestration hubs. 

Louisiana has Class VI primacy, which allows the state to permit their own carbon sequestration wells without going through the EPA, as state laws are at least as stringent as the federal regulations. 

The potential for carbon capture to have any impact on global warming is debated. Steve Goreham, an energy researcher and author of “Green Breakdown,” estimates the world would need to build 70–100 carbon capture facilities every year in order to reach the level of utilization to meet the International Energy Agency’s net-zero emissions by 2050 goal. 

Left-wing opposition to carbon capture

In their opposition to carbon capture, climate advocacy groups point to the questionable efficacy of the technology, but they would likely oppose it even if it does one day become a viable industry. 

Hydraulic fracturing — called "fracking" — for example, has made the U.S. the top producer of natural gas in the world, which has allowed for the U.S. to transition much of its coal-fired power generation to natural gas. This resulted in a large drop in U.S. emissions in the past two decades. Despite its success in lowering emissions, groups like the Sierra Club and Earthworks continue to oppose fracking. 

When a turbine blade broke off an offshore wind turbine in the summer of 2024, the Sierra Club dismissed the concerns of locals in Nantucket, whose beaches were littered with debris. Instead, the Sierra Club asked people not to let the incident undermine support for the offshore wind industry. 

According to a new report by the Pelican Institute, out-of-state donors, including the Rockefeller Family Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies and George Soros’ Tides Foundation, have poured $115.5 million into Louisianans Against False Solutions, a coalition of anti-fossil fuel groups including the local chapter of the Sierra Club and Earthworks.  

The report includes a section on “strange bedfellows,” which argues that grassroots organizations opposed to carbon capture — namely the Louisiana CO2 Alliance and Save My Louisiana — have created cozy associations with these anti-fossil fuel groups in order to make the grassroots campaign more politically appealing to conservatives in rural Louisiana. 

The accusations in the report follow reporting in the DC Journal and The Hayride, which argues that these grassroots groups are a front for left-wing climate advocacy groups. Members of these organizations tell Just the News that the accusations are an effort by their opponents to discredit their grassroots advocacy efforts. 

“We're not anti-oil and gas. I mean, that's how we make our living,” said Roland Hollin, who has been a leader in both the Louisiana CO2 Alliance and Save My Louisiana. 

Emails show that discussions were had

Hollins spoke to Just the News from an oil and gas worksite while he was on a break. He spent a career working in the oil and gas industry, and he said he had to resign from the organizations because his job became at risk. 

Among the companies investing in carbon capture are oil majors such as ExxonMobil, and with the industry employing so many of the residents of the area, many have to be careful what they say about carbon capture. 

Documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests that were reviewed by Just the News show that the Louisiana CO2 Alliance and the Louisiana Sierra Club chapter discussed future coordination. 

One email in November 2024 was addressed to Scottie Benjamin, who is one of the leaders of the Louisiana CO2 Alliance. A representative from the Sierra Club stated that he was “looking forward to working with y’all to protect Louisiana from this crazy CC&S idea.”

In April, emails between Earthworks and the Sierra Club discussed organizing a meeting with the CO2 Alliance for the purposes of influencing the “legislative session.” Other emails show members of the CO2 Alliance discussing possible collaborations with other organizations in the Louisianans Against False Solutions coalition, including an invitation to the CO2 Alliance to apply for a grant from an organization funded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos. 

The discussions never produced collaboration 

Hollins — who has served some 30 years as a police jurist for Allen Parish, which is the Louisiana equivalent of a county commissioner — said that while there were discussions with these groups, they never applied for any grants through these organizations or received funding from them. And they never had any joint operations. 

He explained that there are big, politically connected companies looking to build pipelines under private property using eminent domain and inject carbon dioxide into the ground around their properties. Louisiana has some of the highest poverty rates in the country. The parishes and its residents don’t have the resources of those they’re fighting, and so Hollins considered working with those who have those kinds of resources. 

“We have no money to fight this. We've communicated. We've talked, but I've never joined them,” he said. 

The pipelines and storage caverns create safety concerns. In 2020, a carbon dioxide pipeline burst in Mississippi. NPR reported that the incident resulted in the evacuation of 200 residents and sent 45 people to the hospital. Leaked carbon dioxide can also degrade water quality in aquifers, which are the sole water source for the residents of the parishes where these projects are being proposed. 

“Industry crossed a line with this that shouldn’t be crossed,” Hollins said. 

These incidents have so far been rare, and proponents of carbon capture say that, like with any emerging industry, accidents are more frequent in the industry’s infancy. Over time, it will become even more safe than it already is, they argue. 

Not opposed to carbon utilization 

These assurances aren’t enough for the opponents in the parishes. Hollins said when he started looking into the industry, there were four parishes raising concerns. He said the opposition has since spread to more than a dozen. 

Renee Savant, who is also in the leadership of both the CO2 Alliance and Save My Louisiana, said that the accusations that they are a front for left-wing groups are just a means to discredit them. She said they organized in hopes of having a say in the state legislature, which was ignoring their concerns. 

“We've never received funding from the Sierra Club. I've never met with the Sierra Club. I did have them reach out probably two months ago. If you put a gun to my head, I couldn't tell you the name of one person in the Sierra Club,” Savant said. 

She said they’re not opposed to carbon capture in the way anti-fossil fuel groups do. The CO2 Alliance and Save My Louisiana oppose the pipelines and underground storage. The captured gas can also be utilized to produce a variety of products, including cement and plastics, and it can be used to enhance oil production. Savant said they don’t oppose those uses.

At one time, utilization resulted in lower tax credits, but Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act equalized the tax credits to be the same for storage and utilization, and the utilization industries produce products that generate revenues on top of the subsidies. 

A split down one side of the aisle 

Save My Louisiana filed a lawsuit against Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration in November of last year over state laws allowing eminent domain for carbon-capture infrastructure, arguing the laws are unconstitutional.

Mike Slocum, co-founder of the organization, told Just the News that many of the companies involved in the carbon capture industry are foreign-owned. This means property of Americans could be taken for projects initiated by foreign companies. On top of that, American taxpayers are funding the projects. 

“I have a business. Nobody gave me a penny. I had to do it out of my sweat. I can't understand how these companies, these billion-dollar companies, are getting this taxpayer money,” Slocum said. 

With many lawmakers on board with the carbon capture industry, seeing the jobs and economic activity it will bring, it has pitted rural conservatives against their own party. “When you’re having to fight your own, it becomes a great challenge. It's tough when you have to fight your own side,” Hollins said. 

Allen Parish passed an ordinance last year granting more local oversight of carbon capture projects. Exxon sued the parish, arguing it overstepped its authority, and the parish decided to rescind the ordinance rather than litigate against the oil giant. 

Hollins said, contrary to accusations they’re fronting left-wing groups, the industry and its supporters have abandoned the conservative values that are ingrained in Louisiana. “We value our God, our family, our land and our water. And CCS [carbon capture and storage], this scam being forced on us, attacks three of the most important things to us — our family, our land and our water,” Hollins said.