WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Brian Schatz, (D-HI), praised the Senate for passing their bipartisan clean-air-technology amendment (S.A. 3017) to the Energy Policy Modernization Act. The amendment creates a prize system to encourage innovative technologies to remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and permanently sequester it. 

“This amendment encourages American ingenuity and innovation,” said Senator Barrasso. “It makes sense to look for alternative approaches for removing and permanently sequestering excess carbon dioxide.” 

“By providing a financial incentive to cut carbon pollution, we can encourage the innovation of new, affordable technologies and protect our environment,” said Senator Schatz. “We all know that climate change is the challenge of our generation, and this amendment can help create one more tool to use in the fight against it.” 

Background 

The program would be established by a federal commission under the Department of Energy. The commission, appointed by the president, would be comprised of physicists, chemists, engineers, business managers and economists. 

Awards will go to public and private entities that design technology to remove and permanently sequester carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.

Once the technology is developed, the United States would share the intellectual property rights with the inventor. 

Historically, prizes have been used to spur all types of technological development to solve problems. For example, Charles Lindbergh was competing for the Orteig Prize when he flew in the Spirit of St. Louis non-stop from New York to Paris in 1927.

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https://www.barrasso.senate.gov

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