More Power, Less Grit

Yet a new study by Michael Wara, a research fellow at Stanford University, shows that most credits created under Kyoto have come from the reduction of gases other than carbon dioxide. That's because the system unwittingly awards huge financial premiums for cuts in emissions of hydrofluorocarbons during the manufacture of refrigerants and Teflon, and for methane capture from landfills, but comparatively little for reductions in CO2 emissions from power plants. Wara and others say the scheme needs a major overhaul.

That's not the only regulatory sinkhole ahead. Michael Fubi, vice president for climate protection at the German energy company RWE AG, warns that the idea of permanent CO2 storage underground "has no legal framework" and could spark public debate akin to the ongoing controversy over nuclear waste, based on vague fears of leakage or groundwater contamination. Nonetheless, RWE hopes to have its prototype carbon-capture facility running by 2014, says Fubi, adding that "after 2020, all of Europe will be moving in that direction."

With any luck, so will China. In 20 years or less, it is expected to overtake the United States as the leading emitter of greenhouse gases, with India running a close third. Now, however, both China and India are partners in FutureGen, a sign that rhetorical support for clean coal may soon be reflected in the kinds of power plants these giants actually build. With a new power plant coming into operation every week on average in China, the shift can't come soon enough.

© 2006