Potential for Carbon-Scrub Leaks Unites EPA, Energy Dept. (1)

The Energy Department is working with the EPA to ensure that direct-air capture wells sequestering carbon dioxide in the U.S. are properly permitted and monitored to ensure they never leak, an Energy Department official said Friday at the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow.

Scrubbing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it somewhere only helps to avoid the worst consequences of climate change if the gas is safeguarded underground forever and doesn’t leak.

To help develop that technology, the Energy Department rolled out a “carbon negative earthshot” initiative Friday at COP26, the 26th meeting of the U.N. Framework Convention ...