Capturing King Coal

This report examines the potential and challenges of implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a means to continue using coal for power generation while mitigating climate change impacts, specifically focusing on the technological, policy, legal, and investment hurdles of large-scale deployment.

• Coal combustion in the United States generates approximately 1.9 billion tons of CO2 annually, a volume comparable to the total annual CO2 emissions from the U.S. transport sector. Coal is noted for producing more CO2 emissions per unit of energy than any other fossil fuel.
• Carbon capture and storage (CCS), also known as carbon sequestration, is viewed by policymakers and environmentalists as a bridging technology that could allow coal to remain central to the energy mix without further destabilizing the climate, offering an alternative to the systemic changes required by wind, solar, or nuclear power.
• Deploying a national CCS system at the scale required for significant emissions reductions involves complexities and a transformation of energy infrastructure comparable to the large-scale adoption of wind energy. The report analyzes these challenges across four categories: technology, policy, legal and regulatory framework, and investment.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Capturing King Coal. https://www.wri.org/research/capturing-king-coal

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Capturing King Coal. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/capturing-king-coal.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Capturing King Coal |url=https://www.wri.org/research/capturing-king-coal |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendcapturing, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Capturing King Coal}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/capturing-king-coal}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }