For example, Advanced Resources
International estimates that 70 to 90 trillion
cubic feet (TCF) of coal-bed methane are
present in India 4 . Of this resource, only 20
TCF are recoverable with conventional
methods. An additional 15 to 18 TCF are
potentially recoverable with ECBM,
which would also store billions of tons
of CO 2 safely and securely underground.
Natural gas, including methane, will be
an important bridge fuel for decades.
How does Enhanced Coal-Bed Methane Recovery work?
coal consumption reaches a plateau
around 2020, with usage declining in
the OECD but increasing in developing
countries. India, China, and Indonesia
account for most of this growth in coal
use, with associated increases in local air
pollution and consumptive water use for
energy production.
The IEA’s INDC Scenario envisions the
world on a path to a long-term warming
of 2.60C. Using this scenario, the IPCC²
estimate of the amount of fossil fuel that
can be burned and still limit future global
warming to 20C is fully exhausted by
2040. Additional combustion of high-
carbon fossil fuels will lead the world
further down the path toward dangerous
interference in the global climate system.
How Innovative CCUS Technology
can Help Meet the Challenge
Cleaner fossil energy technologies
can help facilitate the development
of intermittent renewable energy
technologies and minimize the negative
environmental impacts of conventional
fossil energy supply and use. One CCUS
strategy, in particular, seems likely to create
near-term, win-win opportunities that are
highly relevant for developing countries.
The application of oxy-combustion (i.e., the
burning of fossil fuels in a boiler with nearly
pure oxygen) in existing and new power
plants enables cost-effective capture of
highly concentrated CO 2 .
Co-benefits from applying oxy-combustion
carbon-capture technologies include air
pollutant control and making CO 2 available
as a useful and marketable product. These
an