A Cooperative Federalism Framework for CCS Regulation

Coal is the dominant energy resource used for power generation across the globe, and projections suggest this will remain the case for years to come. While coal is an abundant, low-cost domestic energy resource, it is also the most carbon-intensive of all of the fossil fuels. The amount of existing coal-fired infrastructure, the ongoing importance of coal to the nation’s economy, the political support for the coal industry in the U.S. Congress, and the nation’s need for stable, affordable base load power generation all suggest the ability to capture carbon emissions and store them in underground geologic formations—a process commonly referred to as carbon, capture, and storage, or CCS—will likely be an important option for mitigating climate change.

Author(s): Jonas J. Monast, Brooks Rainey Pearson, and Lincoln F. Pratson

Published: September 2011

download: working paper (.pdf) >

This article is a draft that will soon be published in the Environmental & Energy Law & Policy Journal of the University of Houston Law Center.