42 U.S.C. § 16298e — Carbon dioxide removal task force and

Page 8861 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 16311 § 16298e. Carbon dioxide removal task force and report (a) Definition of carbon dioxide removal In this section, the term ‘‘carbon dioxide re- moval’’ means the capture of carbon dioxide di- rectly from ambient air or, in dissolved form, from seawater, combined with the sequestration of that carbon dioxide, including through— (1) direct air capture and sequestration; (2) enhanced carbon mineralization; (3) bioenergy with carbon capture and se- questration; (4) forest restoration; (5) soil carbon management; and (6) direct ocean capture. (b) Report Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary of Energy (in this section re- ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), in consultation with the heads of any other relevant Federal agencies, shall prepare a report that— (1) estimates the magnitude of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that will need to be removed by 2050 to achieve net-zero emissions and stabilize the climate; (2) inventories current and emerging ap- proaches of carbon dioxide removal and evalu- ates the advantages and disadvantages of each of the approaches; and (3) identifies recommendations for legisla- tion, funding, rules, revisions to rules, financ- ing mechanisms, or other policy tools that the Federal Government can use to sufficiently advance the deployment of carbon dioxide re- moval projects in order to meet, in the aggre- gate, the magnitude of needed removals esti- mated under paragraph (1), including policy tools, such as— (A) grants; (B) loans or loan guarantees; (C) public-private partnerships; (D) direct procurement; (E) incentives, including subsidized Fed- eral financing mechanisms available to project developers; (F) advance market commitments; (G) regulations; and (H) any other policy mechanism deter- mined by the Secretary to be beneficial for advancing carbon dioxide removal methods and the deployment of carbon dioxide re- moval projects. (c) Submission; publication The Secretary shall— (1) submit the report prepared under sub- section (b) to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com- mittees on Energy and Commerce and Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep- resentatives; and (2) as soon as practicable after completion of the report, make the report publicly available. (d) Evaluation; revision (1) In general Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Secretary publishes the report under subsection (c)(2), and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall evaluate the findings and recommendations of the report, or the most recent updated report submitted under paragraph (2)(B), as applicable, taking into consideration any issues and rec- ommendations identified by the task force es- tablished under subsection (e)(1). (2) Revision After completing each evaluation under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— (A) revise the report as necessary; and (B) if the Secretary revises the report under subparagraph (A), submit and publish the updated report in accordance with sub- section (c). (e) Task force (1) Establishment and duties Not later than 60 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall establish a task force— (A) to identify barriers to advancement of carbon dioxide removal methods and the de- ployment of carbon dioxide removal projects; (B) to inventory existing or potential Fed- eral legislation, rules, revisions to rules, fi- nancing mechanisms, or other policy tools that are capable of advancing carbon dioxide removal methods and the deployment of car- bon dioxide removal projects; (C) to assist in preparing the report de- scribed in subsection (b) and any updates to the report under subsection (d); and (D) to advise the Secretary on matters per- taining to carbon dioxide removal. (2) Members and selection The Secretary shall— (A) develop criteria for the selection of members to the task force established under paragraph (1); and (B) select members for the task force in accordance with the criteria developed under subparagraph (A). (3) Meetings The task force shall meet not less frequently than once each year. (4) Evaluation Not later than 7 years after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall— (A) reevaluate the need for the task force established under paragraph (1); and (B) submit to Congress a recommendation as to whether the task force should con- tinue. (Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title V, § 5002, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2550.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Energy Act of 2020, and not as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which comprises this chapter. PART G—SCIENCE § 16311. Science (a) In general The Secretary shall conduct, through the Of- fice of Science, programs of research, develop-