This story was originally published by the Louisiana Illuminator.
Louisiana has more proposed carbon capture and sequestration projects than any other state, according to a new analysis of federal government data that’s prompting outcry from environmental groups concerned the expansion is outpacing safety.
The Environmental Integrity Project took data from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Louisiana Department of Energy and Conservation and public announcements from industry to map and enumerate known and approximate locations of carbon storage projects and pipelines.
More than 270 carbon capture and sequestration projects have been proposed across the United States, said Abel Russ, director of the Environmental Integrity Project’s Center for Applied Environmental Science. At least 65 of those projects are planned for Louisiana.
Texas had the next most with 48 planned projects.
Thirty Louisiana projects propose pulling carbon dioxide from the air, known as direct air capture, and 35 facilities plan to inject or sequester the gas underground. The most projects are planned for Cameron Parish with 11 and Ascension Parish with 10.
Eleven CO2 transport pipelines are also proposed, as well as one above-ground storage terminal.
The facilities plan to pull at least 33 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year combined, according to the report’s analysis, at least 135 million tons injected into underground reservoirs.
The Environmental Integrity Project criticized carbon capture and sequestration technology as a false solution to the climate crisis, taking issue with federal tax subsidies meant to address the growing greenhouse gas emission problem being used to prolong the continuance of fossil fuel extraction.
“Between 80 and 90% of carbon capture projects approved for taxpayer subsidies so far have been for enhanced oil recovery,” Russ said.
“Using carbon dioxide to extract more fossil fuels is not a climate solution,” he added.
The group called for a larger pause on all carbon capture and sequestration permits and implementation as well as further research into the safety of such projects in Louisiana.
“We think that Louisiana should put a hold on all of this until we can get a better handle on where and how to sort store carbon dioxide underground safely, and then regulate it properly with much more vigorous government oversight and with real, meaningful monitoring,” Russ said.
Gov. Jeff Landry issued a moratorium on new carbon dioxide injection permit applications in October 2025 in an attempt to appease opposition and industry. His order did not include projects already permitted by the state.
There are currently two operating carbon capture sites in Louisiana, capturing emissions from a CF Industries ammonia plant in Ascension Parish and New Generation gas processing plant in Beauregard Parish. Only one carbon dioxide sequestration well permit, for Hackberry Carbon Sequestration, LLC, has been approved so far, located in Cameron Parish.
Local opposition to carbon storage has a vocal base, with community groups such as Louisiana CO2 Alliance and Save My Louisiana pushing for legislation and legal action for local control over permitting and against the use of eminent domain for projects.
Bills in the 2025 legislative session would have given more local control and instituted stricter safety guidelines related to carbon capture and sequestration, but none were advanced. More proposals have been prefiled for the 2026 session to bring the issue back into consideration.
Anne Rolfes, director of environmental group Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said issues with government and industry’s transparency around the projects is another reason to halt advancement of the industry in Louisiana.
“It is disingenuous and dishonest for the parish officials and for industry to claim that CCS has been advertised and communicated within the neighborhoods,” she said.
“This is people’s home, and the fact that they didn’t find out about these, this industrial destruction until after documents were signed, is a problem.”
“This is not a left or a right issue. This is the citizens versus unchecked government power partnered with corporate greed,” said Renee Savant, president of the community advocacy group Louisiana CO2 Alliance.
Savant cited issues with projects and pipelines planned near schools, hospitals and neighborhoods, pointing out schools in Calcasieu Parish are within 1,000 feet of planned CO2 pipelines.
Breathing in high concentrations of carbon dioxide can be dangerous, causing people to suffocate. It can also prevent combustion engines from operating, an issue that prevented people in Satartia Mississippi, from fleeing the site of a burst CO2 pipeline in 2020, which hospitalized 45.
“A rupture near school is not an abstract risk,” said Savant. “It’s a public safety emergency waiting for the wrong day.”
