Today, Evergreen endorsed a letter led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA-17) to Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Daniel Werfel, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging their agencies to develop a strong set of guardrails for the 45Q carbon sequestration tax credit. In response, Evergreen Senior Vice President Craig Segall released the following statement:

“We need an end to weak oversight and poor safeguards that could allow some of the richest companies in the world to take public money without delivering the real, measurable climate benefits the policy intended. The IRS must act decisively to ensure this tax credit is used only as a genuine tool for carbon reduction by implementing robust, enforceable guardrails. This is the administration’s chance to stop subsidizing climate pollution and ensure the credit has real oversight.”

The IRS is expected to release updated guidance for the tax credit later this year. The letter calls on the agencies to implement basic guardrails like on-site third-party verification, rigorous coordination between the IRS and EPA, and a recapture period to ensure long-term accountability. 

Read the full text of the letter here.

Earlier this year, Evergreen published a memo, “Public Money Is Funding Carbon Sequestration. Here’s How IRS Must Demand Oversight,” outlining policy recommendations to strengthen guardrails on the federal carbon sequestration tax credit. You can read the full memo here.