Port: Coal industry pushing back on anti-carbon capture resolution at NDGOP convention
The Lignite Energy Council is engaging with delegates to the NDGOP's state convention, urging them not to pass a resolution branding carbon capture efforts as "fascism." The North Dakota Republican Party's platform for the 2024 election cycle has been met with significant opposition from influential advocacy groups, including the coal industry. One resolution suggests that women should be arrested for seeking abortions has been opposed by four pro-life groups and one of the leaders of the pro-abortion movement in the state Legislature. Another is a resolution opposing "the fascism of mutually beneficial partnerships between government and private energy corporations under the pretext of climate change". This resolution was prompted by opposition to a carbon pipeline project backed by Summit Carbon Solutions, spearheaded by state Sen. Jeff Magrum. The Lignite Energy Council, representing North Dakota's coal industry, will distribute flyers to delegates at the convention asking them to vote down this resolution. The conflict reflects the increasing influence of populist ideologies in the Republican Party, which are increasingly unmoored from traditional priorities.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Rob Port in Environment
MINOT — A controversial raft of proposals for the North Dakota Republican Party's platform for the 2024 election cycle has drawn serious pushback from influential advocacy groups.
One resolution suggesting that women be arrested for seeking abortions has drawn opposition from four pro-life groups and one of the leaders of the pro-life movement in the state Legislature.
Now, a resolution that opposes "the fascism of mutually beneficial partnerships between government and private energy corporations created under the pretext of climate change" is drawing fire from the coal industry.
Resolution 7, to be taken up by delegates to the NDGOP's state convention this weekend, is born of an ardent hostility toward a carbon pipeline project backed by Summit Carbon Solutions that got off on the wrong foot with some North Dakotans with aggressive surveying and negotiation tactics. But that opposition has sprouted into full-on hostility to the concept of capturing, transporting and storing carbon at all, spearheaded by state Sen. Jeff Magrum, a Republican from District 8.
This has alarmed one of North Dakota's largest industries. The Lignite Energy Council, which represents the state's coal industry, will distribute flyers to delegates at the convention asking them to vote down this resolution.
A copy of the literature has been shared with me. It urges delegates to consider that left-wing environmental interests also oppose carbon capture, and that despite concerns about the use of eminent domain to build carbon pipelines, the coal industry, specifically, has a decades-long history of working with landowners.
The concern over these resolutions comes alongside a movement among the MAGA wing of the NDGOP to excommunicate from party ranks anyone deemed disloyal to the party's platform. Many elected Republicans argue that there should be room for nuance and disagreement within the GOP over these issues.
That interests groups such as the pro-life lobby and the energy industry are engaging in a debate over party resolutions — a little-scrutinized afterthought in past election cycles — speaks to how influential these calls for absolute fidelity to party have become.
That the coal industry — along with North Dakota's oil, gas, and ethanol interests — would be concerned about diminishing state support for carbon capture isn't surprising.
North Dakota has long been a leader in promoting the technology. Sen. John Hoeven was already working on this issue when he served as governor from 2000 to 2010. Under the Trump administration, Hoeven spearheaded — along with other state leaders such as Sen. Kevin Cramer, Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Gov. Doug Burgum — the creation of tax credits to incentivize carbon capture.
North Dakota is also one of just three states that have won regulatory primacy from the federal government for carbon capture projects.
The potential benefits for North Dakota are manifest. Our legacy industries — energy and agriculture — are heavy on carbon emissions. To keep them viable into the future, where the markets increasingly demand lower carbon intensity, that must be addressed. But there are other benefits, as well, beyond maintaining the status quo.
Our state's geology is very conducive to storing carbon underground. There is potential for carbon capture and storage to become not just an add-on but an industrial sector in its own right.
Also, the state's oil fields demand a lot of carbon to enhance recovery operations. Lynn Helms, North Dakota's top oil regulator, says the demand for carbon in the oil fields will eventually outstrip the amount of carbon our state emits.
But these realities have run into an ideological buzzsaw. Many Republican voters are conditioned to be suspicious of government policies aimed at mitigating climate impacts. Ironically, these far-right activists have found themselves aligned with left-wing environmental activists, who don't like that carbon capture is a benefit to the fossil fuels industries.
Whatever happens at the convention, this food fight is yet another example of how the populist ideologies that are ascendant in the NDGOP — and, really, the GOP nationally — are increasingly unmoored from the traditional and pragmatic priorities Republicans have championed in the past.
Topics: Carbon Capture