Stephanie Arcusa, Assistant Professor, School of Complex Adaptive Systems, in the Rob Walton College of Global Futures, is lead author on Limited options for diffusing carbon disposal technologies: A case study of the four corners carbon management hub, United States, a new publication in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control.
A brief summary follows:
Carbon management hubs are proposed as strategies to support decarbonization. While they introduce carbon removal technology, long-term success depends not only on deployment but also on the diffusion of carbon disposal at scale. This paper examines the laws and policies governing the deployment and diffusion of carbon disposal technologies in the Four Corners region of the United States (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah), where a carbon management hub has been proposed. Using an inventory of state laws and policies, the analysis assesses whether existing frameworks are sufficient to support the diffusion stage. Results show that all four states have demonstrated interest in carbon management and have enacted policies that support deployment. However, substantially less attention has been paid to diffusion, which requires sustained demand and financing over decades. Across the region, diffusion relies heavily on the federal Section 45Q tax credit, which the analysis finds to be poorly suited for this role due to its credit value, administrative complexity, and fiscal exposure. Colorado is the only state to explore alternative diffusion-oriented mechanisms, including procurement and emissions trading, though these approaches also present trade-offs. The findings suggest that voluntary markets and government financing alone are unlikely to support carbon disposal at the scale required. Instead, state-based regulatory frameworks that allocate a share of diffusion costs to fossil carbon producers may offer a more politically resilient pathway. The paper concludes that without targeted policy innovation focused on diffusion, proposed hubs risk remaining confined to pilot-scale deployment rather than achieving durable impact.
Says Arcusa: What I find most important about this work is that it shifts the conversation from whether carbon management can be deployed to how it can be sustained. Long-term CO₂ storage requires durable financing, clear accountability, and policy structures that last beyond a single incentive program.
Arcusa offers the following acknowledgments:
ASU's Center for Negative Carbon Emissions consultant Robert Page co-authored this study. The study was funded by the Department of Energy.