The Future of Coal under Carbon Cap and Trade

This document is a written testimony submitted by the World Resources Institute (WRI) to the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming on September 14, 2007. It argues that carbon dioxide capture and sequestration (CCS) is a critical near-term technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal, as other low-carbon energy sources are currently unable to offset coal use at the necessary scale. WRI advocates for increased public funding for research, development and demonstration (RD&D) and the implementation of a carbon cap and trade regime, while noting that current cap and trade proposals may not provide high enough carbon prices to offset initial CCS capture costs.

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in a February 2007 report that global emissions need to peak by 2015 to keep average global temperature increases at or below 2.4°C (4.3°F).
• Carbon dioxide capture and sequestration (CCS) is identified as the only near-term solution to address the rapid expansion of coal use globally, including in China and the United States, because energy efficiency, renewables, nuclear power, and natural gas cannot currently offset coal use on a sufficient scale.
• CCS technology currently faces several barriers to widespread adoption, including high costs, untested public reaction, and uncertainty regarding its ability to scale beyond niche applications.
• While a carbon cap and trade regime is seen as a critical step to incentivize low-carbon investment and help agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy prioritize work, current legislative proposals are expected to have carbon prices too low to offset high CCS capture costs during the first decade.
• WRI recommends increasing public spending on climate research, development and demonstration (RD&D), specifically for CCS, and adopting additional policy tools such as siting regulations and special incentives for technology deployment.

APA

World Resources Institute (2007). The Future of Coal under Carbon Cap and Trade. https://www.wri.org/publications/future-coal-under-carbon-cap-and-trade

Chicago

World Resources Institute. The Future of Coal under Carbon Cap and Trade. 2007. https://www.wri.org/publications/future-coal-under-carbon-cap-and-trade.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=World Resources Institute |title=The Future of Coal under Carbon Cap and Trade |date=14 September 2007 |url=https://www.wri.org/publications/future-coal-under-carbon-cap-and-trade |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{worldresourcesinstitute2007future, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{The Future of Coal under Carbon Cap and Trade}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2007}, month = sep, url = {https://www.wri.org/publications/future-coal-under-carbon-cap-and-trade}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }