WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing cooperation between the two agencies to assess global, regional and national resources for geologic carbon storage. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an important and proven global method used to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from power plants and industrial facilities by capturing the CO₂ they produce and transporting it to safe, permanent storage deep underground. Capturing and storing the CO₂ prevents it from being released into the atmosphere, which is critical to achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goals to produce 100% clean electricity by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050, as well as assisting other countries in meeting their climate goals.

“The USGS produced the first U.S. national assessment of geologic carbon storage potential in 2013," said Dr. Sarah Ryker, USGS Associate Director for Energy and Mineral Resources. “This partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy will enable us to provide technical leadership and capacity building to help other nations research safe and reliable geologic carbon storage options throughout the world. We will jointly build toward national, regional and global assessments of the potential for geological storage options throughout the world, and for application of carbon capture and storage technologies.”   

“To help drive the critical energy transition needed to address the climate crisis, our federal agencies must pull together to focus and strengthen our global decarbonization efforts,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Dr. Jennifer Wilcox. “Carbon capture and storage is key to delivering rapid emission reductions in our power and industrial sectors, and we are excited to work with the U.S. Geological Survey and our international partners to evaluate CO₂ storage resources and identify new investment opportunities for expanding our research, development, demonstration and deployment of CCS.”

Under this partnership, the two U.S. agencies will collaborate with multiple international governments, geologic surveys, and other organizations to provide technical assistance through a series of discussions, meetings, workshops and research activities that will contribute to a better understanding of current and potential resources for geologic CO₂ storage. This information will be used by government, academia, industry, research organizations and other stakeholders to help identify potential investment opportunities for research, development, demonstration and deployment that will advance CCS technologies for application in power and industrial sectors. Investing in CCS advancements is essential for decarbonizing the power and industrial sectors and addressing legacy emissions to help countries throughout the world meet their climate goals necessary to tackle this global climate crisis.