Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2021

Leaked DOE list marks first tranches for two direct air capture hubs 'terminate'

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

A leaked Energy Department list from October 2025 marked the first tranches for two direct air capture hubs 'terminate', according to Carbon Herald. The hubs are Occidental's South Texas hub and Project Cypress in Louisiana, and at stake for nature is whether public money for removing carbon from the air reaches working plants.

What?
A leaked Energy Department list from October 2025 marked the first tranches for two direct air capture hubs 'terminate', according to Carbon Herald.
Where?
South Texas and Louisiana, United States
When?
Team cut reported in April 2025 (Heatmap); leaked list dated to October 2025 (Carbon Herald) Heatmap
Who?
Gained
  • Occidental (South Texas hub) — First tranche of about $50 million
  • Climeworks and Heirloom (Project Cypress, Louisiana) — First tranche of about $50 million
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Federal hub funding paid in first tranches of about $50 million, with promised support of up to $500 million for the South Texas hub.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The 2021 infrastructure law set aside $3.5 billion for direct air capture hubs, and the Energy Department promised up to $500 million to Occidental's South Texas hub and support of similar scale to Project Cypress in Louisiana, according to Carbon Herald.

Each hub received a first tranche of about $50 million.

A leaked list from October 2025 marked those first tranches 'terminate', according to Carbon Herald.

Heatmap reported in April 2025 that the Energy Department's carbon removal team had been cut to one person.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: an April 2026 trade report said the Energy Department would keep the hub funds, citing a $1.2 billion figure whose base is unclear (DecarbonFuse; secondary report only).
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: a primary Energy Department document for the October 2025 list, which was seen only in press reports.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: the net carbon removed by the Stratos, Mammoth and Petra Nova plants in 2024–2026.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: which companies received 45Q tax credits, since the IRS does not publish recipient names.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. Occidental buys Holocene
      Heatmap · 2025-04-16

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Similar cases
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Carbon credits · Mexico · 2022–2025
    Make Sunsets stratospheric balloon launches (Mexico)
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2008–2025
    US 2025 tax law gave oil recovery the same carbon credit as permanent storage
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2025
    Stardust Solutions raises $60 million for solar geoengineering
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · United States · 2017–2023
    Texas Petra Nova carbon capture plant closed in 2020, reopened in 2023
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Carbon credits · Canada · 2015–2020
    Quest CCS (Shell, Alberta)
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Carbon capture and climate intervention · Canada · 2025
    Alberta and Ottawa tie new oil pipeline to Pathways carbon capture plan
    Same type: Carbon capture and climate interventionSame regionHarm to nature not measured