Policy making in carbon capture and storage - Essay Example

Strategies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to address climate change are grouped into three broad areas. First, involves minimizing carbon dioxideemissions by lowering energy consumption. This is by investing in social adaptations that use low energy, like energy efficient automobiles. Two, involves expanding non-fossil energy sources processes, like wind, nuclear power, geothermal, and biomass. The third approach entails capturing carbon dioxide from the emissions sources. The captured energy is then stored in the geological repositories.

This is viewed as Carbon Captured and Storage (CCS). CCS is very attractive because it has the capabilities of enabling the biggest global economies to utilize abundant and cheap coal resources. The coal usage is without releasing large volumes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.There are four key policy recommendations that can enhance the widespread adoption of CCS in the United States. Firstly, the United States federal government should provide subsidies to enhance commercial scale CCS. The subsidies should cater for several approaches of geological storage.

Though CCS can be a profitable venture, the government should provide assistance during the short term to illustrate the technology at commercial levels. The government support should also cover several costs, like expenses involved in independent monitoring of the CCS projects.Grants are needed to support the financing of the present PC plants that have the post combustion capture processes. The awards should cover only part of the expenses in the CCS projects; this is because the projects possess several factors that ensure economical benefits.

For instance, accelerating state subsidies for the CCS project.