Technologies to Reduce or Capture and Store Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Additional Coal Requirements to Meet Various
Increases in NG Fired Electricity Generation
3,500
3,015
3,000
2,387
Million tons of Coal
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
1,759
1,445
1,131
817
503
500
0
0
0 50 100 125 150 175 200 240
Projected Percentage Increase in NG Electric
Power Generation by 2030
Figure 1-10: Potential World Need for Coal Based
On Amount of Increase in Natural Gas Generation
Figure 1-10 demonstrates a shortfall in natural gas supply will have far reaching
consequences for coal. In fact, the major energy agencies are steadily moving in this direction.
In the 2006 World Energy Outlook (WEO), the IEA increased the projection of coal demand
significantly:
“Coal use rises by 32 percent by 2015 and 59 percent by 2030 - a significantly faster rate of
growth than in the WEO-2005 . . .gas grows less quickly than in the last Outlook.”
Carbon Dioxide and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Economic growth requires the production and consumption of energy, which creates inevitable
byproducts such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). This
section explores these issues by examining carbon emissions by region and sector. A
comparative analysis of carbon intensity across various countries is also presented. U.S.
progress on carbon management, which to date has generally been market based, will be
compared with progress in countries committed to carbon reductions under the Kyoto Protocol.
This comparison reveals that most of these countries have failed to meet their carbon emission
reduction targets. And although the U.S. also has increased CO 2 emissions, the U.S. continues to
make progress when CO 2 emissions are measured relative to its economic output, resulting in
steadily declining carbon intensity.
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