False 5 CCS technology: ready to go By Robert Socolow, Princeton University

False 6Carbon Capture and storage In the same period, expectations about the evolution of the fossil- fuel mix have changed: there has been a rush to coal. Of the new power plants to be built in the next few decades, more are now expected to be fuelled by coal and fewer by natural gas. Coal- to- liquids technology is being taken seriously in China and the US. All this is bad news for the climate. Coal power puts twice as much CO2 into the atmosphere per kilowatt- hour as natural- gas power. When gasoline and diesel are made from coal, twice as much CO2 enters the atmosphere per kilometre of driving than when the same fuels are made from crude oil. In short, the heightened concern for climate change and the greater competitiveness of coal are on a collision course. Fortunately, there is a way greatly to reduce the effect of this collision: capture the CO2 released Photo: BP Countryside and lake between Durango and Silverton in Colorado, US