The Pros and Cons of Carbon Capture Technology: Debating its Role in Clean Energy's Future

Congress has allocated billions of dollars in subsidies to promote the expansion of carbon capture technology, which aims to prevent CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-burning plants by capturing and storing them underground. However, critics argue that carbon capture is a costly distraction and that investing in renewable energy projects would be more effective in reducing emissions. The Petra Nova coal-fired power plant, the only commercial plant in the US to use carbon capture, faced technical issues and high costs before being mothballed. Some experts believe that direct air capture, which extracts CO2 from the atmosphere, could play a role in combating climate change, but current facilities can only remove a fraction of annual CO2 emissions.