The Lenfest Center supports policy initiatives aimed at accelerating the deployment of new low-carbon energy technologies.

Global Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage

The Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy is participating in the Earth Institute's Global Task Force on Carbon Capture and Sequestration, which will bring together technical and policy experts from coal-producing and consuming regions of the world to examine the potential deployment of coal-fired power plants that capture and store the carbon dioxide they would otherwise emit to the atmosphere. The CCS Task Force will fill a critical gap in current discussions of climate and energy policy by addressing obstacles to carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) deployment in an integrated framework that considers the scientific, political, and economic aspects of the issue.

Coal is an abundant and inexpensive energy source, but is also responsible for massive and increasing CO₂ emissions. If CCS proves to be both economically and technically feasible on a large scale, the deployment of CCS would permit the continued and even increased use of coal without further destabilizing the climate system. The Global CCS Task Force will examine the current bottlenecks to more rapid demonstration projects and eventually to large-scale deployment. The Global CCS Task Force will examine the entire chain of decision making needed to accelerate development, demonstration, and eventual diffusion of CCS (assuming that demonstration proves its large-scale feasibility) throughout the world, including the United States, the European Union, China, and India. Issues include public financing of RD&D, private-sector incentives, public-private partnerships, public awareness and acceptability, site selection, legal liabilities, environmental regulations, geological monitoring and evaluation, and other critical issues.

The Global CCS Task Force will also seek to identify and address technological questions that cannot be resolved by any single company working on its own. We anticipate that the Task Force will address problems such as industry standards for the monitoring, measuring, and verification of long-term carbon sequestration in the context of specific technological approaches. By explicitly confronting deployment obstacles, the Task Force can help ensure that coal can be used in sustainable manner and continue to provide inexpensive energy for development throughout the world.