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The Clean Air Task Force argues that the National Coal Council's claim that 40,000 MW of capacity could be recovered from old coal plants by relaxing New Source Review (NSR) rules is flawed. The report asserts that a boom in new natural gas generation—estimated at 260,000 MW likely to come online by 2005—negates the need for such recovery. It further claims that recovering capacity from old plants would be expensive and difficult, as most deratings occur in small increments across 1,200 units. Finally, it argues that NSR enforcement provides far greater emission reductions than the efficiency (heat rate) improvements proposed by the industry.

The document defends the findings of an SGR/CIEH report on shale gas, arguing that unconventional gas extraction is more invasive than conventional gas and risks exceeding global carbon budgets. It highlights regulatory resource shortages in the UK, the potential for fracking to trigger seismic events that damage wellbore integrity, and the risk of air and water contamination. The authors argue that shale gas is not a 'key component' of IPCC mitigation strategies and suggest that the UK could reduce its dependence on natural gas through energy conservation, biogas, and a transition to electric heating.