Abstract: Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) may play a key role in achieving mid-and late-century decarbonization goals globally, it is an important component of the current U.S. strategy for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, and it provides a key path for power plants to comply with recently finalized U.S. greenhouse gas emission standards. The U.S. federal tax credit for CCUS rose to $85/ton under the Inflation Reduction Act, and models suggest that this will prompt significant deployment of the technology. The economic case for a CCUS subsidy, however, is weaker than for many other decarbonization approaches for several reasons: the need for perpetual funding in order to support deployment and operation, the possibility that it may have counterproductive impacts on CO2 emissions (especially through dynamic effects on the composition of subsidized industries), and the potential for post-combustion CCUS to increase human health damages from local and regional air pollutants. In this seminar, we will talk about these aspects of CCUS from an economic perspective and assess important considerations for designing future CCUS policy incentives.

Bio: Sheila Olmstead is a professor at Cornell Brooks Public Policy, a Cornell Atkinson Scholar, and a Senior Faculty Fellow at Cornell Atkinson. She studies the economic dimensions of environmental policies, especially those related to water quantity and quality. Her research has influenced academic thinking and regulatory policies on topics including climate change and water resource management, the effect of various pricing strategies on water conservation, economics, and water quality considerations around shale gas development, measuring the economic value of improved water quality, and the effect of carbon capture and storage on local air pollution.

This event is presented as part of the 2025 Perspectives on the Climate Change Challenge Seminar Series:

• Most Mondays, Spring Semester 2025, 2:55-4:10 p.m.
• Zoom Link

This university-wide seminar series is open to the public (via Zoom), and provides important views on the critical issue of climate change, drawing from many perspectives and disciplines. Experts from Cornell University and beyond present an overview of the science of climate change and climate change models, the implications for agriculture, ecosystems, and food systems, and provide important economic, ethical, and policy insights on the issue. The seminar is being organized and sponsored by the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering and Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.