When Lobbyists Masquerade as Experts, Louisiana Loses

By Renee’ Savant, Editor, CO₂ Chronicles

Louisiana citizens deserve the truth about carbon capture and storage (CCS). Instead, we’re being handed press releases dressed up as news, written by lobbyists like Will Green, and amplified by institutions like LSU that are financially tied to the very industry they are supposed to “study.”

Who is Will Green?

Mr. Green isn’t a neutral observer. He is a longtime industry lobbyist, formerly leading the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association (LMOGA) before moving into broader business lobbying roles. His career has been spent advancing the agenda of oil, gas, and now carbon capture corporations—industries with billions at stake in tax credits and subsidies.

When he warns that “momentum is fragile” and that only “Texas will win” if CCS faces public scrutiny, remember: that’s not a citizen’s perspective. That’s a paid talking point.

LSU’s Dual Role: Research or Promotion?

LSU’s Petroleum Engineering Research, Training and Testing Lab is drilling a 7,900-foot “training” well. LSU stresses it won’t inject CO₂—yet the optics are clear. LSU, flush with energy industry partnerships and grants tied to CCS, positions itself as an “objective” research hub while simultaneously bolstering the political case for CCS in Louisiana.

The irony? The public is told this is about “science” and “the energy transition,” but the fine print reveals LSU’s applied research is structured to serve the very companies profiting from 45Q tax credits. When a university accepts industry dollars, how independent is its research—or its messaging?

The False Choice

Mr. Green frames citizen concerns as “misinformation” driven by “out-of-state activists.” That’s a convenient way to dismiss the voices of Louisiana landowners, parish officials, and community leaders who live above the aquifers and abandoned wells targeted for CO₂ injection.

The real “out-of-state” influence comes from Wall Street investors, multinational oil giants, and Washington D.C. tax credit architects—not ordinary citizens asking hard questions about safety, property rights, and water protection.

The Chronicle’s Position

The citizens of Louisiana are not anti-science. We are not anti-jobs. We are pro-truth. And the truth is this: CCS is being advanced in our state not by neutral experts, but by lobbyists and institutions with direct financial stakes in its expansion.

It is not the role of Will Green—or LSU—to tell us what risks we are allowed to weigh. Their role, clearly, is to promote an industry agenda. Ours, at CO₂ Chronicles, is to expose it.

Louisiana has seen what happens when industry is given free rein with our land, water, and people. We will not sit quietly while lobbyists pose as thought leaders and universities turn into marketing arms.

The next time you read an “op-ed” by Will Green, or a press release dressed up as university research, ask yourself: who paid for this message, and who stands to profit if you believe it?

Because the answer is never the people of Louisiana.

—
Renee’ Savant is the editor of CO₂ Chronicles, an independent investigative news platform dedicated to exposing the truth about carbon capture in Louisiana.

💡 Help Us Pull Back the Curtain

At CO₂ Chronicles, we believe the people of Louisiana deserve more than press releases from lobbyists and university PR teams. We deserve the truth.

Right now, we’re digging into LSU’s ties to the carbon capture industry. That means filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, pushing past delays, and fighting resistance at every turn. These investigations take time, persistence, and resources.

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