Vivek Ramaswamy condemns eminent domain, carbon capture pipelines

DES MOINES — Vivek Ramaswamy on Friday criticized plans to build carbon capture pipelines across Iowa as an abuse of eminent domain and questioned the climate change goals the pipelines promise to advance.

The Ohio biotech entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate was joined at the Des Moines rally by state lawmakers who have led efforts to restrict eminent domain authority for the pipelines, as well as activists who have opposed their construction on their land.

Ramaswamy said Iowa’s Republican leaders have supported the pipelines’ construction despite the opposition of voters.

“Why are the Republican puppets that claim to represent you, why are they supporting this issue, or even worse, ignoring it?” he said.

Ramaswamy said the driving force behind his attention to the issue was the possibility of using eminent domain to involuntarily take land — through easements — to build pipelines.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. New London, which broadened the federal standard for eminent domain, was wrongly decided, he said, adding eminent domain should not be used for private companies.

“I’m a skeptic of eminent domain, period, but if the government has some public use, not just private companies, but if it’s a public use, that’s the limited circumstance in which eminent domain is able to be used,” he said.

He suggested that approving eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines could lead to more seizure of private property to achieve climate goals.

Ramaswamy referred to the “climate change agenda” as a “hoax,” arguing there is no need to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

He said he thinks the severity of global climate change has been overstated and does not pose a serious threat.

“I do not believe that this has a major impact on human flourishing,” he said. “To the contrary, what does, is the bad policies that we’re adopting in the name of it.”

Another reason Ramaswamy said he opposed the pipelines was the promise that they would lower carbon emissions as a solution to climate change, which some climate change activists refute.

Global carbon emissions have increased rapidly over the last century, according to the Environmental Protection Administration, leading to rising temperatures. And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report found that rising global temperatures are already causing climate changes, with more extreme weather, rising sea levels and loss of biodiversity expected in the future.

The politics

Ramaswamy has focused more attention on the carbon capture pipeline issue this week and has taken shots at Republican figures for not forcefully opposing the projects.

That criticism includes Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has supported the carbon pipeline projects because of their potential to boost Iowa agriculture, though she has said eminent domain should be used only as a last resort.

Ramaswamy, 38, has struggled to gain support in Iowa despite appearing at dozens of events across the state in recent weeks. He polls around 5 percent from likely Republican caucusgoers in recent Iowa polls.

The proposed multistate pipelines to capture CO2 at ethanol plants for storage underground have faced a coalition of opposition from conservative Republicans who oppose the use of eminent domain as well as climate activists that see the projects as a false solution to global climate change.

Ethanol industry leaders say the pipelines are key to allowing manufacturers to sell in states and countries that mandate low-carbon fuel and unlock new markets for sustainable aviation fuel.

Other candidates have touched on the issue throughout the campaign, including former President Donald Trump, who told voters in Council Bluffs, “We’re working on that” in response to a question about the pipelines, according to NBC News.

As president, Trump signed legislation to support carbon capture technology and extend tax credits for the projects.

‘Standing up for us’

Lisa Dirks, one of many involved landowners who attended the pipeline event Friday, said Ramaswamy's statements about the carbon capture pipelines has made her seriously consider him as a caucus choice, though she still is undecided.

Dirks' Cedar County land is on the route of the proposed Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline.

"Vivek now is standing up for us, because this ... is a solution to a problem that does not exist," she said. "And capturing this is only putting money in the pocket of the big boys."

Comments: cmccullough@qctimes.com

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