Louisiana CO2 pipeline near elementary school canceled: community relief and project economics

Air Products canceled its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, which would have included a CO2 pipeline near Sorrento Primary School. Parents had raised health concerns about potential leaks, citing risks from high carbon dioxide concentrations near children. The company cited low financial returns, not community opposition, as the reason for the cancellation, which will cost them around $2.9 billion across two projects. The proposed pipeline was part of a larger carbon capture and storage project in Ascension Parish, an area already burdened by heavy industrial pollution. Community advocates had pushed back for two years, and environmental groups like Earthworks also engaged with potential partners to highlight the project's economic and safety risks. Yara, a Norwegian chemical company, also pulled out citing poor returns. This cancellation shows how project economics, not just community opposition, can kill large carbon capture proposals. The article notes that carbon capture at this scale has a poor track record, with existing plants facing clogging and leakage issues. For those tracking carbon market infrastructure, this is a concrete example of a major project failing on financial grounds in a region already dealing with heavy industrial pollution.