Introduced by Gov. Mike Dunleavy last year, HB 50 was originally advertised as a way to generate money for the state while also reducing human-caused climate change.
Under HB 50, the state would set rules for companies that collect carbon dioxide and store it underground, a process known as carbon storage or geologic carbon sequestration. Interest in carbon storage has grown over the past decade as companies sign “net zero” agreements that require them to balance their carbon dioxide emissions with programs that remove carbon from the atmosphere.net zero by 2040“Well, I know that there are guilty Australians and Californians who want to pay this state to pollute. That’s OK with me,” said Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks.
Natural gas produced at Prudhoe Bay contains large amounts of carbon dioxide, which must be removed before shipping. Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, referred to the idea as “climate change nonsense” and said the bill isn’t about climate at all but is “merely the state of Alaska trying to take advantage of what some big companies’ boards of directors have told them that they must do.”