Coal Power in a Warming World

The Union of Concerned Scientists argues that the United States must stop building new coal plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS) to avoid locking in decades of high carbon emissions. The report recommends funding 5 to 10 commercial-scale CCS demonstration projects, implementing a strong economy-wide cap-and-trade program, and shifting federal R&D funding toward energy efficiency and renewable energy. It also highlights the severe environmental and health costs of the coal fuel cycle, specifically calling for a ban on mountaintop removal mining and the elimination of subsidies for coal-to-liquid technology. Internationally, the report advocates for sharing CCS technological lessons with developing nations, particularly China and India, to curb their expanding use of conventional coal.

• Coal-fired power plants are the primary source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, accounting for approximately one-third of the national total.
• Building new coal plants without carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a high-risk strategy because retrofitting these plants later is significantly less efficient and more costly than original installation.
• The report recommends the U.S. government fund 5 to 10 full-scale, integrated CCS demonstration projects to determine the technology's technical and economic feasibility.
• Coal-to-liquid (CTL) technology is identified as environmentally detrimental, as it can more than double life cycle CO2 emissions compared to gasoline if CCS is not used, and still exceeds gasoline emissions even with CCS.
• Mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia causes permanent environmental destruction, including the burial of over 700 miles of biologically diverse streams and the deforestation of approximately 1.4 million acres.
• Federal R&D funding has historically been biased toward coal and nuclear power, significantly underfunding renewable energy and energy efficiency.
• The report emphasizes the need for technology transfer of low-carbon solutions to developing nations, specifically China and India, to address their rapid expansion of coal-fired power.

APA

Freese, B., Clemmer, S., & Nogee, A. (2008). Coal Power in a Warming World. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Coal-power-in-a-warming-world.pdf

Chicago

Freese, Barbara, Steve Clemmer, and Alan Nogee. Coal Power in a Warming World. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2008. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Coal-power-in-a-warming-world.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Freese |first1=Barbara |last2=Clemmer |first2=Steve |last3=Nogee |first3=Alan |title=Coal Power in a Warming World |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=October 2008 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Coal-power-in-a-warming-world.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{freese2008coal, author = {Freese, Barbara and Clemmer, Steve and Nogee, Alan}, title = {{Coal Power in a Warming World}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2008}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Coal-power-in-a-warming-world.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }