The Use of Carbon Capture in Decarbonizing the Power Sector Increases Health Costs and Perpetuates Inequities

Many decarbonization studies identify Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) as a necessary technology for achieving a zero-emissions grid, despite concerns over its uncaptured air pollutants. Using a high-fidelity model of the United States Western Interconnection, we examine how different CCS deployment strategies affect air pollution and public health compared to a fully decarbonized system. We estimate annual health damages as high as $7.26 billion for a scenario that achieves a 90% CO2 emissions reduction by 2035 using CCS, which is more than 3.7 times the damages that occur when the system is fully decarbonized without thermal generation. This burden is borne an average of 1.6 times higher per capita for low-income populations compared to high-income ones, and some demographic groups are exposed to 2.5 times higher population-weighted PM2.5 concentrations than others. Overall, using CCS to decarbonize power generation has the potential to exacerbate and perpetuate inequities in air pollution exposure around the world.