NRDC says America must boost carbon capture projects to meet CO2 goals

[We'll be in Pittsburgh all week for the Carbon Capture & Sequestration Conference. Look for more updates as the week goes by.]

This morning began with remarks from David Hawkins, the director of climate programs for the National Resource Defense Council. Those who are paying attention only to the shallow political discourse of anti-coal TV ads might be surprised to see NRDC address a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) conference. But in fact there is a better relationship between some environmental groups and clean coal technology researchers than many people think.

After all, NRDC knows that America simply cannot meet stringent regulations on carbon management unless CCS is deployed on a large scale.

Hawkins stressed his strong desire to see Congress regulate carbon dioxide (remember, this is something ACCCE agrees with, provided the new law includes the proper consumer protections). He said he wants to see legislation that includes not only performance standards but the money to make it happen.

The conversation on Capitol Hill on the details of such a bill, including the allocation of emission allowances, is going on right now. We look forward to working with people such as Hawkins to figuring out the details of a bill that both protects the environment and provides consumer protection so that our energy costs remain affordable.