Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced
Summary
Creates a federally administered carbon dioxide removal program. This bill would set up a federal program to buy CO2 removed directly from ambient air or seawater using eligible technologies. It would set stepped annual removal targets that rise to 10 million net metric tons per year by 2036.
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- Project developers: The program would create a market for removals and require lifecycle-based accounting of net greenhouse gas emissions. Feasibility is tied to per-ton price caps that decline over time.
- Workers and small businesses: It would prioritize domestic job creation and partnerships with labor, minority-owned, and women-owned firms, and aim for at least 20% of annual removals through 2035 to come from small removal projects.
- Communities and oversight: It would require independent third-party measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification with standards to be set within one year, require community risk mitigation and enforceable community benefits agreements, and promote economic development in fossil-fuel regions.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
8 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Federal CO2 removal targets
If enacted, the Secretary would be required to procure lifecycle‑accounted CO2 removals at set annual levels: 50,000 tons for each of FY2026–2027; 500,000 tons for each of FY2028–2030; 5,000,000 tons for each of FY2031–2035; and 10,000,000 tons for FY2036 and each year after. Each fiscal year’s required quantity would have to be delivered no later than three years after that fiscal year begins. These targets would guide federal contracts and program purchases if the program is funded and deemed economically feasible.
Funding authorized for the program
If enacted, the bill would authorize whatever sums are necessary to carry out the CO2 removal procurement program. No specific dollar cap is set in the bill; actual funding would still require later appropriations by Congress. This authorization enables federal purchases and related program activities if Congress provides money.
Per-ton price caps for removals
If enacted, the Secretary would treat removals as economically feasible only if they can be done at or below specified per‑ton price ceilings. Those ceilings (adjustable for inflation) would be $750/ton for FY2026–2027; $500/ton for FY2028–2030; $300/ton for FY2031–2033; $200/ton for FY2034–2036; and $150/ton for FY2037 and later. The per‑ton price used for feasibility must include the cost of independent measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification.
Community and labor project priorities
If enacted, the Secretary would give priority to projects that minimize lifecycle emissions, boost technology diversity, and support domestic jobs. Projects that partner with labor organizations, or that include small, minority‑owned, or women‑owned businesses, or that source materials domestically would get extra preference. Projects would also be expected to quantify and mitigate community and environmental risks and include public engagement and enforceable community benefits agreements.
Measurement, verification, and reporting
If enacted, the Secretary would set standards within one year for measuring, monitoring, reporting, and verifying removals. Independent third‑party verifiers would be required to follow those standards and be overseen by the Secretary. The Secretary would also deliver public reports to Congress every two years starting January 1, 2029 showing verified removals, prices paid, technology types, locations, and community and labor impacts.
Contract rules and small-project access
If enacted, the Secretary could use competitive processes and sign contracts up to 15 years to meet removal targets. The bill would define a "small removal project" as one that removes no more than 5% of a year’s required tons and would require at least 20% of annual removals from 2026 through 2035 to come from small projects when practicable. The Secretary would also require that funds paid under program contracts not be treated as Federal assistance and not affect eligibility for other federal aid or tax incentives.
Which removal technologies qualify
If enacted, the Secretary would decide which technologies qualify. Eligible technologies would generally be equipment placed in service after January 1, 2022 that remove CO2 directly from ambient air or seawater. The bill would exclude CO2 from subsurface springs, most natural photosynthesis removals, and CO2 captured for enhanced oil recovery, but it creates a rulemaking pathway to include certain waste‑gasification or cellulosic waste sequestration technologies if strict measurement and environmental protections are met. The bill would require lifecycle accounting of net greenhouse gas emissions for eligible removals.
No double counting of removals
If enacted, the bill would bar counting the same carbon removal under this program if it was already used to comply with another greenhouse gas program. The Secretary would determine whether a removal was previously counted and disallow double counting toward the program’s requirements.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
DE • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
RI • D
Sponsored 7/29/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov