Louisiana’s Carbon Capture Plans Deserve Support To Protect, Grow Jobs, National Hispanic Energy Council Says

Louisiana’s success in carbon capture will drive national embrace of important tool for economic, environmental gains

BATON ROUGE – The National Hispanic Energy Council (NHEC), founded to bring a Hispanic voice to the energy policy debate, on Friday offered its full backing to the State of Louisiana’s application to the Environmental Protection Agency to assume federal authority to permit carbon capture projects.

“Louisiana’s industrial heart beats with many facilities that are tough to decarbonize, but provide jobs and important products to our country. Carbon capture and storage is a mature, proven technology that will rapidly improve air quality while preserving and driving continued economic growth for all of Louisiana’s workers, including the more than 27,000 Hispanics employed in those industries,” NHEC Vice Chairman Matthew Gonzales said.

“There are efforts afoot to make Louisiana the hill to die on to stop carbon capture, mainly by using fear and to persuade disadvantaged communities to rally against the fastest way to provide cleaner air. This disingenuous push is like so many others that claim to be pro-environment, but are in reality, anti-people and anti-jobs,” he said. “Jobs, entrepreneurship and economic opportunities are guiding lights for America’s Hispanic community, alongside family and education. Louisiana’s actions to seize the moment and bring forward a workable solution to the environment-economy equation deserve our maximum support.”

About The National Hispanic Energy Council
The National Hispanic Energy Council (NHEC) The National Hispanic Energy Council is founded on the principle of fair and equitable energy for all Americans, driven by the urgent need to reduce the 20% higher energy costs Hispanic families pay compared to the median American family. Drawing on expertise from across the economy and Hispanic community, we exist to fill a void in advocacy: a voice for energy policies that helps Hispanic families, businesses and entrepreneurs. The Council is building a bipartisan coalition of leaders of Hispanic groups across the country, and exists to educate elected officials, policy makers and the Hispanic public on what good energy policy choices look like.