Technologies to Reduce or Capture and Store Carbon Dioxide Emissions

35.0
12.0
30.0
10.0
Trillion Dollars
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
Biliion Tons
0.0
1990 2002 2003 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030
0.0
United States GDP
United States GHG Emissions
China GDP
China GHG Emissions
Figure 1-14: Gross Domestic Product and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
in the United States and China, 1990-2030
Data Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook
Carbon Intensity Worldwide
The U.S. electric utility industry has already made considerable progress in providing society
with reliable and affordable electricity that involves increasingly lower carbon emissions per unit
of production. This improvement in carbon intensity will continue and likely accelerate as new
technologies are adopted. A strong argument can be made that a technology-based approach to
carbon management and the accompanying technological innovations will continue to achieve
significant results. For example, the power industry reported 282 million metric tonnes of
carbon equivalent emission reductions, avoidances and sequestrations during 2004, representing
63 percent of all such emission reductions reported to the federal government. 6 Further, the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes a range of technology-related provisions that, with robust
budget support and implementation, could facilitate wider adoption of carbon management
initiatives.
The United States continues to reduce carbon intensity while maintaining one of the fastestgrowing,
wealth-generating economies in the world. Mature market economies, however, cannot
shoulder the burden of carbon management alone. As Raymond Kopp from Resources for the
Future has pointed out:
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