The Ohio biotech entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate was joined 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 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.

Ramaswamy has struggled to gain support in Iowa polling despite dozens of events across the state in recent weeks. He has pulled in around 5% of support from likely Republican caucusgoers in recent Iowa polls.

Proposed multi-state 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.

Summit Carbon Solutions and Wolf Carbon Solutions are both planning pipelines to capture CO2 at ethanol plants in Iowa and store it in underground reservoirs. A third proposed project by Navigator CO2 Ventures was scrapped last month as the company cited the “unpredictable nature” of the regulatory process.

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.

Iowa Renewable Fuel Association Executive Director Monte Shaw hit back at Ramaswamy in a statement on Thursday, calling him hypocritical for supporting the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which also used eminent domain.

“Iowans are tired of seeing politicians bow down to petroleum companies while finding excuses to hamstring the future of agriculture,” Shaw said. “Unfortunately, these are the typical games we’ve come to expect from politicians running on fumes.”

Ramaswamy said state 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.

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

Eminent domain

Ramaswamy said the driving force behind his attention to the issue was the possibility of using eminent domain to involuntarily take land to construct the projects.

Summit, which has asked for eminent domain authority, is awaiting a decision from the Iowa Utilities Board over its application for the pipeline. Wolf has said it does not intend to use eminent domain to build its pipeline, and recently asked to resubmit its application in Illinois.

Ramaswamy said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. New London, which broadened the federal standard for eminent domain, was wrongly decided and that 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.

Climate change

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

The technology has been advanced by some activists as a solution to climate change and a way to create low-carbon fuel, but other climate activists say they are not an effective method of addressing climate change and serve to prop up fossil fuels.

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

Global carbon emissions have increased rapidly over the last century, according to the Environmental Protection Administration, leading to rising temperatures.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report found that rising global temperatures are already causing global changes and future increases will cause more extreme weather, rising sea levels and loss of biodiversity.

Ramaswamy 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.”

Landowner: Ramaswamy “is standing up for us.”

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