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Global View

Many experts believe that the use of coal as an energy resource is the largest threat to global warming. Coal is abundant and inexpensive but releases more carbon dioxide per unit energy than petroleum or natural gas. Carbon dioxide from coal has risen to equal emissions from petroleum, but provides much less energy.

In the US and Europe, coal is used primarily to generate electricity. Half of US electricity is generated from coal, accounting for 90% of coal consumption nationwide. Fortunately, electricity can be generated from many other energy resources. Reducing the use of conventional coal-fired power is the most important single strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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The use of coal in China to fuel its burgeoning economy is perhaps the world’s most rapidly growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. China has the third largest endowment of coal deposits, but much of it is of poor quality. Recent data indicate that China is now a net importer of coal as well as of petroleum and natural gas.

When coal is burned in conventional power plants, carbon in the coal combines with oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide. It is technically feasible to capture the carbon dioxide at specially designed power plants rather than allowing it to enter the atmosphere.

Proposals have been made to build such plants and permanently store or “sequester” the carbon dioxide. The US Department of Energy is funding a demonstration project it calls “FutureGen” to test this technology.

CEERT supports the development of carbon recovery and sequestration technologies. Until and unless such technology becomes available and is deployed, however, the use of coal as an energy resource must be minimized to limit global warming.

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California

California has no indigenous coal deposits and no large power plants in the state burn coal. However, California utilities purchase coal-fired from power plants in neighboring states. About 22% of the electric energy supplied to the state’s consumers in 2005 came from coal compared to 37% from natural gas. However, because coal is much more carbon intensive, carbon dioxide emissions from coal were as large as those from gas. Carbon dioxide emissions from these power plants are correctly included in the inventory of California emissions by the California Energy Commission.