CATF’s Coal Transition Project is working to rapidly apply CCS technologies in the U.S. and China in the following ways:
- Strengthen laws and regulations to clean up coal and implement carbon capture and storage.
- Identify RD&D needs.
- Nurture a growing CCS industry.
- Support projects that seek to install CCS.
- Promote collaboration between U.S. and Chinese businesses on CCS and cleaner coal.
- Communicate the status of CCS to the public.
The battle against the most dangerous impacts of climate change cannot be won without addressing coal’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Coal generates almost half the world’s electricity. It is responsible for 40% of the world’s manmade CO2 emissions. And coal is not going away. Worldwide coal use is expected to double over the next 30 years as developing economies such as China and India grow.
Against this backdrop of rising coal demand and CO2 emissions, science provides unequivocal evidence that Earth’s climate is changing. Potentially catastrophic impacts of these changes are already being measured. Without deep cuts in CO2 emissions, climate change cannot be stopped: global temperatures will rise to levels unprecedented in human experience, setting in motion ecosystem alterations that could lead to species extinctions, famine, global wars, and massive economic disruption.
The mounting scientific evidence is stark: CO2 emissions must stop—globally—by mid-century in order to avoid the worst effects of climate warming. We must prepare for zero carbon emissions within the next several decades to keep the planet’s temperature within the bounds of human experience. The goal is not 50%, but zero.
How can deep reductions in CO2 occur in the face of escalating demand for and availability of coal? Carbon capture and storage (CCS) encompasses both proven and emerging technologies that can be applied today to remove CO2 before it is released into the atmosphere. In the U.S., several pioneer coal plants are seeking air permits that result in 50%, 60%, even 85% reductions in CO2 from these proposed plants, which rival or are significantly lower than emissions from natural gas. Existing coal plants must be retrofitted with CCS to reduce carbon emissions. These technologies, along with energy efficiency, renewables, and other carbon-free electricity sources can together bring CO2 emissions to the levels needed for climate stabilization by mid-century.
