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 · 2008–2025

US 2025 tax law gave oil recovery the same carbon credit as permanent storage

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.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 3 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of July 2025 gave carbon used for enhanced oil recovery the same 45Q tax credit as stored carbon. Enverus said this cut the breakeven price of an enhanced-oil-recovery barrel from $28 to $16, so public tax money now supports oil extraction.

What?
Changes to the 45Q carbon capture tax credit under the July 2025 law Global CCS Institute
Where?
United States
When?
Credit introduced in 2008; enhanced oil recovery treatment changed July 2025 Global CCS Institute
Who?
Gained
  • Ten companies (not named) — received 99.9% of the 45Q credits claimed in 2010–2019, per TIGTA
  • Oil producers using captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery — lower breakeven prices, per Enverus World Oil
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • US taxpayers — fund the credit through lost tax revenue
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Tax credit per tonne of CO2 captured and stored, or used in enhanced oil recovery
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Global CCS Institute reported that the July 2025 budget law gave carbon used for enhanced oil recovery the same credit as permanent storage.

Enverus said the change cut the breakeven price of an enhanced-oil-recovery barrel from $28 to $16 and reduced production costs by more than 40%.

A 2020 audit by the Treasury inspector general (TIGTA) found that $893 million of about $1 billion in 45Q credits claimed in 2010–2019 did not meet EPA monitoring rules, and that ten companies received 99.9% of the credits.

    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: the Treasury estimate of $36.2bn for 2024–2033 and the $14.2bn the Joint Committee on Taxation added through the 2025 law.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the original 2008 credit of $10–20 per tonne.
    • None on record The IRS does not publish the names or amounts of 45Q recipients, so the reviewed material could not identify the ten companies.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: a quote from Occidental's then chief executive describing direct air capture as a licence to keep operating for decades; the conference where it was said was not verified.

    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

    Communities and civil society

    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Carbon credit
    A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.

    Institutions

    EPA
    The US Environmental Protection Agency.
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