U.S. States & Regions

States and regions across the country are adopting climate policies, including the development of regional greenhouse gas reduction markets, the creation of state and local climate action and adaptation plans, and increasing renewable energy generation. Read More
 

Ridesharing: Context, Trends, and Opportunities

Ridesharing: Context, Trends, and Opportunities

March 2012

by Cynthia J. Burbank and Nick Nigro

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Transportation in the United States faces significant challenges, including uncertain funding, congestion, unsustainable trends in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and high costs to households and government. Ridesharing represents a cost-effective option for addressing many of these concerns. Although ridesharing has declined in recent decades, it continues to play an important role in the transportation system today, and new developments such as social media present opportunities to increase ridesharing nationwide. This paper examines the role and potential of ridesharing, specifically carpooling and vanpooling (C/V), in the U.S. transportation system, and concludes that ridesharing merits greater support from federal, state and local transportation agencies.
 
Cynthia J. Burbank
Nick Nigro
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Judi Greenwald Discusses Enhanced Oil Recovery on E&E TV

Watch the interview

March 6, 2012

Is enhanced oil recovery (EOR) the missing link in the United States' energy policy? During today's OnPoint, Judi Greenwald, vice president for technology and innovation at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and Robert Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council, outline the recommendations of the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute, a coalition of business and environmental groups. Greenwald and Baugh call on Congress to pass an enhanced oil recovery tax credit to spur innovation and growth in carbon capture and storage. They also address the environmental concerns associated with EOR. Click here to watch the interview.

 
Click here for additional information about the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute.

Launch of New Multi-State Climate and Clean Energy Partnership

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North America 2050: A Partnership for Progress (NA2050) formally launched on March 14, 2012. NA2050 is a group of U.S. states and Canadian provinces committed to policies that move their jurisdictions toward a low-carbon economy while creating jobs, enhancing energy independence and security, protecting public health and the environment, and demonstrating climate leadership.

NA2050 is the successor to the 3-Regions Initiative, which was a collaboration among members of the three North American regional cap-and-trade programs: The Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Western Climate Initiative. NA2050 is a broader effort, addressing clean energy in addition to climate change.

Work in NA2050 primarily takes place within seven working groups:

  • Benefits: Evaluating and communicating the benefits of moving to a low-carbon economy
  • Power Sector 2050: Influencing and preparing for U.S. Clean Air Act requirements for the electricity sector
  • Industry 2050: Encouraging industrial energy efficiency through benchmarks
  • Sequestration: Encouraging sequestration and reuse of CO2
  • Sustainable Biomass: Examining best use and priority pathways for biomass
  • Offsets: Developing high quality offsets
  • Linking: Exploring linking of existing cap-and-trade programs

 

North America 2050 Website

North America 2050 Launch Notice

Multi-State Climate Initiatives

In working to address climate change, many states have reached beyond their borders to enlist their neighbors in collaborative efforts. Across the United States and Canada, multi-state climate initiatives have been designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, develop clean energy sources, and achieve other environmental and economic goals. Multi-state initiatives can be more efficient and effective than actions taken by individual states because they cover a broader geographic area (and, in turn, more sources of GHG emissions), eliminate duplication of work among the states, and help businesses by bringing greater uniformity and predictability to state rules and regulations.

Scroll down to learn more about these regional initiatives or jump to a specific initiative:

 

North America 2050

Summary: In March 2012, a diverse array of states and provinces launched North America 2050: A Partnership for Progress (NA2050). NA2050 participants are committed to policies that move their jurisdictions toward a low carbon economy while creating jobs, enhancing energy independence and security, protecting public health and the environment, and demonstrating climate leadership. NA2050 is a multi-state, multi-regional collaborative working constructively on climate change and clean energy. C2ES serves as one of six nonprofit advisor groups for this partnership.

History: NA2050 is the successor to the 3-Regions Initiative, which was a collaboration among members of the three North American regional cap-and-trade programs: The Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Western Climate Initiative. NA2050 is a broader effort, addressing clean energy in addition to climate change. 

 

Western Climate Initiative

Summary: The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) is a collaboration of independent jurisdictions working together to identify, evaluate, and implement emission trading policies to tackle climate change at a regional level. Current WCI Partners are British Columbia, California, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Other U.S. states, Canadian provinces, Mexican states and tribes that are interested in collaborating to combat climate change at a regional level are encouraged to participate in the WCI. 

In November 2011 WCI formed WCI, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, to provide administrative and technical services to support the implementation of state and provincial GHG emission trading programs. As WCI jurisdictions begin to implement cap-and-trade programs, WCI, Inc. will develop a compliance tracking system that tracks both allowances and offset certificates; administer allowance auctions; and conduct market monitoring of allowance auctions and allowance and offset certificate trading. California and Quebec will move forward with cap-and-trade in 2012, with compliance requirements beginning in 2013. Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba are committed to implementing programs in the near future as well. 

History: On February 26, 2007, Governors Napolitano of Arizona, Schwarzenegger of California, Richardson of New Mexico, Kulongoski of Oregon, and Gregoire of Washington signed an agreement establishing the WCI, a joint effort to reduce GHG emissions and address climate change. Later, the governors of Utah and Montana, as well as the premiers of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec joined as Partners. An additional 14 jurisdictions joined as Observers, including the U.S. states of Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, and Wyoming; the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan; and the Mexican border states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, and Tamaulipas. In the Initiative's Memorandum of Understanding, WCI Partners agreed to jointly set a regional emissions target and establish a market-based system—such as a cap-and-trade program covering multiple economic sectors—to aid in meeting this target. 

The WCI was built on work previously undertaken individually by participating states and provinces, as well as two earlier regional agreements: the Southwest Climate Change Initiative of 2006, including Arizona and New Mexico, and the West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative of 2003, including California, Oregon, and Washington. 

In August 2007, the Western Climate Initiative announced its regional, economy-wide GHG emissions target of 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, or approximately 33 percent below business-as-usual levels. The regional target was designed to be consistent with existing targets set by individual member states and does not replace these goals. Covered emissions include the six primary greenhouse gases identified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. 

In September 2008, the WCI released Design Recommendations for a Cap-and-Trade Program to begin in 2012. The program would cover emissions from electricity and large industrial and commercial sources in 2012, and would also cover emissions from transportation and other residential, commercial, and industrial fuel use beginning in 2015. 

In July 2010, the WCI Partners released the Design for the WCI Regional Program, a comprehensive strategy designed to reduce GHG emissions, stimulate development of clean-energy technologies, create green jobs, increase energy security, and protect public health. It is a plan to reduce regional GHG emissions to 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and is the culmination of two years of work by seven U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. It builds on the recommendations for a regional cap-and-trade program that the Partners released in September 2008. 

As of November 2011, WCI includes British Columbia, California, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. The remaining jurisdictions that had signed on to WCI are no longer part of the effort.  

 

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative 

Summary: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first mandatory US cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide. RGGI sets a cap on emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants, and allows sources to trade emission allowances. The program began by capping emissions at current levels in 2009, and will reduce emissions 10% by 2018. The current members are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia are observers to RGGI. RGGI has been successfully running since 2008. A study released in November 2011 showed that RGGI has resulted in net economic benefit to participating states due to increased energy efficiency and other factors.

History: On December 20, 2005, the governors of seven Northeastern states announced the creation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to implement the first mandatory U.S. cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide.

On January 18, 2007, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing his state to join RGGI, making Massachusetts the eighth state to participate. In his State of the State address on January 30, Governor Donald Carcieri announced that Rhode Island would also be joining RGGI.  

On April 6, 2006, Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. signed into law the Healthy Air Act. The bill required the Governor to include the state in RGGI by June 30, 2007. Maryland became the 10th official participating state in April 2007 with Governor Martin O'Malley's signing of the RGGI Memorandum of Understanding.

New Jersey announced in May 2011 that it would be exiting the program, a move that was complete by the beginning of 2012. 

 

Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord

Summary: The Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord (MGGRA) was a commitment by the governors of six Midwestern states and the premier of one Canadian province to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through a regional cap-and-trade program and other complementary measures. Members of MGGRA are not currently pursuing their GHG goals through the Accord. 

History: On November 15, 2007, the Governors of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, as well as the Premier of Manitoba signed the Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord (MGGRA) as full participants. The Governors of Indiana, Ohio, and South Dakota joined the agreement as observers. On November 27, 2008, the Premier of Ontario also joined as an observer. Under the Accord, members agreed to establish regional greenhouse gas reduction targets, including a long-term target of 60 to 80 percent below 2007 emission levels, and develop a multi-sector cap-and-trade system to help meet the targets. Participants also agreed to establish a greenhouse gas emissions reduction tracking system and implement other policies, such as low-carbon fuel standards, to aid in reducing emissions. 

After releasing a model cap-and-trade rule in April 2010, the states and province in MGGRA did not continue pursuing their GHG goals through the Accord.

 

Transportation and Climate Initiative 

Summary: The Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) is a regional collaboration of 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic jurisdictions that seeks to develop the clean energy economy and reduce GHG emissions in the transportation sector. TCI aims to "expand safe and reliable transportation options, attract federal investment, lower transportation costs, improve overall air quality and public health, and mitigate the transportation sector's impact on climate change."  TCI includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Transportation currently accounts for 30 percent of GHG emissions in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. 

History: On June 16, 2010, eleven Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states, as well as the District of Columbia, announced a Declaration of Intent for the TCI. The jurisdictions involved with the TCI established the Transportation, Energy, and Environment Staff Working Group to direct the initiative's planning and seek public and private funding for projects. The Georgetown Climate Center facilitated the initial meeting of the TCI and continues to support the effort.

On October 19, 2011, the TCI jurisdictions announced that the creation of the Northeast Electric Vehicle Network to bolster economic growth, maintain the region’s leadership in the clean energy economy and reduce the area’s dependence on oil and its emissions of GHG and other pollutants. The eleven participating jurisdictions will promote all clean vehicles and fuels and facilitate planning for and the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations and related infrastructure throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. 

 

Broad Coalition Offers Plan to Accelerate Adoption of Plug-In Electric Vehicles

Press Release
March 13, 2012
Contact: Tom Steinfeldt, steinfeldtt@c2es.org, 703-516-0638

Broad Coalition Offers Plan to Accelerate Adoption of Plug-In Electric Vehicles
C2ES-Led Group Recommends Strategies to Connect PEVs to the U.S. Electrical Grid

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition including automakers, electric utilities, environmental groups, and state officials outlined joint recommendations today to accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) nationwide.

The PEV Dialogue Group, convened last year by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), presented its recommendations at a Washington, D.C. event featuring remarks by group members from General Motors, Southern California Edison, the state of Michigan, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The group’s report, An Action Plan to Integrate Plug-in Electric Vehicles with the U.S. Electrical Grid, provides a roadmap for coordinated public and private sector action at state and local levels to ensure that PEV owners can conveniently plug in their cars without overtaxing the grid.  It recommends steps to ensure compatible regulatory approaches nationwide, balance public and private investments in charging infrastructure, and better inform consumers about PEVs.

“With plug-in electrics, we now have a mass-produced alternative to the internal combustion engine,” said C2ES president Eileen Claussen. “This is a major opportunity to tackle both energy security and climate change, and to put American industries and workers out front on a truly transformative technology. But for PEVs to succeed, we need all the right parties working together. That’s what this plan is all about.”

Nearly 18,000 PEVs were sold in the United States last year; over the next year or two, all of the major automakers plan to have models on the road. Some PEVs like the Nissan Leaf rely entirely on battery power, while others like the Chevy Volt have small backup engines to extend their driving range.

Broad deployment of PEVs, which use little or no gasoline, can significantly reduce U.S. reliance on imported oil and curb harmful tailpipe emissions. If accompanied by the gradual decarbonization of U.S. electricity, PEVs can also significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. But growth of the PEV market faces major challenges, including new infrastructure letting owners plug in at home and on the road while ensuring the reliability of the grid.

The PEV Dialogue Group’s Action Plan includes recommendations to:

  • Encourage state public utility commissions and other policymakers to establish a consistent regulatory framework nationwide to harmonize technical standards; streamline the installation of household and commercial charging stations; and use electricity rate structures to promote charging at off-peak hours.
  • Assist local policymakers and stakeholders in assessing local needs, developing tailored strategies, and optimizing public and private investment in charging infrastructure.
  • Provide consumers with reliable information on the costs and benefits of PEVs and the choices among PEV technologies.

“Instead of policies that increase our addiction to oil, we need to provide Americans more transportation choices,” said Roland Hwang, transportation director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Putting millions of electric vehicles on the road will cut drivers’ fuel bills, help the auto industry, keep billions of dollars in the U.S. economy, and curb emissions of dangerous air pollutants. By working together across the political spectrum to enact this Action Plan, we can create a vibrant market for electric cars, restore U.S manufacturing leadership and create thousands of jobs.”

“The U.S. electrical grid is a national energy security asset and has the excess capacity, off-peak to support millions of electric vehicles right now,” said Edward Kjaer, director of PEV readiness, at Southern California Edison, a major electric utility. “With the PEV Action Plan, C2ES has spearheaded an important effort that will help us all use this critical domestic resource for transportation and begin to reduce this nation's dependence on imported oil."

“GM is glad to work with groups such as C2ES that are working to advance the adoption of electric vehicles through real-world best practices and stakeholder education,” said Michael Robinson, vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs at GM.

“It has been a pleasure to work with the other members of the PEV Dialogue Group and identify policies that will help seamlessly integrate plug-in electric vehicles with our electrical grid,” said Orjiakor Isiogu, a member of the Michigan Public Service Commission. “I look forward to continuing my work within the group and helping it properly balance the needs of electricity customers and the opportunity presented by PEVs.”

C2ES will work with the PEV Dialogue Group and others to promote implementation of the Action Plan. Over the coming months, C2ES is working with the Washington State Department of Transportation to advise transportation officials in seven states on steps to accelerate PEV adoption, and with the U.S. Department of Energy to support DOE-funded Clean Cities Coalitions working in dozens of communities across the country to develop local PEV deployment plans.


About C2ES
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting strong policy and action to address the twin challenges of energy and climate change. Launched in November 2011, C2ES is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, long recognized in the United States and abroad as an influential and pragmatic voice on climate issues. C2ES is led by Eileen Claussen, who previously led the Pew Center and is the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.


PEV Dialogue Group Participants

  • A123 Systems
  • AASHTO
  • Argonne National Laboratory
  • Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
  • Better Place
  • Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
  • City of Raleigh, NC
  • Daimler
  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • Edison Electric Institute (EEI)
  • Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA)
  • Electrification Coalition
  • Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
  • General Electric
  • General Motors
  • Georgetown Climate Center
  • Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission*
  • Johnson Controls Inc.
  • Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
  • Michigan Public Service Commission*
  • National Wildlife Federation
  • North Carolina Department of Transportation
  • Northeast Utilities System
  • Natural Resources Defense Council
  • NRG Energy
  • PJM Interconnection
  • Rockefeller Brothers Fund
  • Rocky Mountain Institute
  • Southern California Edison
  • U.S. Department of Transportation
  • University of Delaware
  • Washington State Department of Transportation

*The role of these group members must be limited to technical contribution because of their organizational function.

National Governors Association Report Finds Clean Energy Progress in All States

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On January 31, 2012, the National Governors Association released a report that details all state-level clean energy actions implemented between June 2010 and August 2011.  The report, entitled Clean State Energy Actions: 2011, highlights how all states are working hard to promote clean energy despite the weak economy and state budget challenges.  The report identifies state actions in seven categories:

  • Energy efficiency
  • Clean electricity
  • Alternative fuels and vehicles
  • Lead-by-example
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Clean energy research, development, and demonstration
  • Clean energy economic development

According to the report, nearly all states improved energy efficiency and increased clean electricity generation.  In addition, Arkansas, Maryland and forty other states promoted alternative fuels and vehicles.  Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina and twenty-three additional states initiated lead-by-example programs, in which state governments promote clean energy by using it in state buildings and operations, bringing the total to fifty-one states and territories.  Oregon, Washington, Vermont and nine other states took new action to address greenhouse gas emissions. Forty-five states have now addressed emissions in some way by participating in greenhouse gas registries or initiatives, setting emission reduction targets, authorizing commissions to study the impact of climate change, and/or developing a climate action plan.  Finally, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia, and twenty-five other states established a new economic development policy to advance the clean energy industry, such as a tax incentive for clean manufacturing or a workforce development program to foster clean energy jobs. 

Overall, the report emphasizes that states have adopted policies that best fit their unique needs and opportunities.  While states will likely struggle with fiscal hardship in the coming years, the National Governors Association believes that states will still look to reduce energy costs and invest in clean energy economic development.

Clean State Energy Actions Press Release

Climate Leadership Conference

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February 29-March 1 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  

With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the headline sponsor, the first annual Climate Leadership Conference will be held from February 29-March 1, 2012, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The conference will bring together leaders from business, government and academic institutions, and the non-profit community interested in exchanging ideas and information on how to address climate change while simultaneously running their operations more competitively and sustainably.

The conference includes a gala to honor recipients of the Climate Leadership Awards, a new national awards program to recognize exemplary corporate, organizational, and individual leadership in response to climate change. U.S. EPA, in partnership with C2ES, The Climate Registry (The Registry), and the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO), sponsor the awards. 

Featured conference speakers include:

  • Nancy Sutley – Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
  • Gina McCarthy – Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Mary Nichols – Chair, California Air Resources Board
  • Eileen Claussen – President, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

Click here for complete speakers list and detailed conference agenda.

Program Highlights

  • Network with leaders from the public and private sectors, including federal and state government officials, industry leaders, and nonprofit experts
  • Attend the Climate Leadership Awards Gala, which is held in conjunction with the conference
  • Hear insights from winners of the 2011 Climate Leadership Awards for the Supply Chain, Organizational and Individual Leadership categories

Conference attendees will learn about and exchange solutions on topics including

  • Leveraging Clean Energy Opportunities
  • Managing Climate Risks and Building Resilience
  • Supply Chain Strategies
  • Disclosures and Questionnaires
  • Setting and Achieving GHG Reduction Goals Education & Engagement
  • Strategies Making the Business Case for Climate Response

Any sponsorship or advertisements appearing in these materials do not imply endorsement, recommendation, or favor by the United States Government or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

February 2012 Newsletter

Click here to view our February 2012 newsletter.

Learn about the new international coalition aimed reducing short-lived climate pollutants, a framework for carbon capture and storage, and how federal agencies are incorporating climate adaptation into their decision making, the start of a clean energy standard conversation, and more in C2ES's February 2012 newsletter.

The Bingaman Clean Energy Standard: Let the Conversation Begin

Submitted by Manik Roy | 02/22/2012

This is the first blog post in a multi-part series on the Bingaman Clean Energy Standard. Read part 2.

When the idea of a “clean energy standard” (CES) was first proposed a couple of years ago, it was viewed as the Republican alternative to both a renewable energy standard and a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program. Many Republicans favored this approach because it included not just renewable energy, but also traditional Republican priorities such as nuclear power, hydropower, and clean coal.

Following the defeat of cap-and-trade legislation, President Obama began to see merit in this approach too. He proposed a Clean Energy Standard in his State of the Union in 2011 and again this year.

In a few days, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is expected to introduce a CES bill. If it is anything like the long line of earlier Bingaman bills, it will be a thoughtful balance of economic, energy, and environmental objectives, and – to those of us who read a lot of legislation – beautifully written.

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C2ES Report Offers Comprehensive Approach to Measure CO2 Reductions from Carbon Capture and Storage

Press Release                                        
February 14, 2012
Contact: Tom Steinfeldt, 703-516-4146

NEW REPORT OFFERS COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO ACCOUNT FOR
CO2 REDUCTIONS FROM CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions’ Framework Lays Groundwork
for Future Energy & Climate Policy Action

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report released today by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) provides the first-ever comprehensive framework for calculating carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions from carbon capture and storage (CCS). The framework equips policymakers and project developers with common methodologies for quantifying the emission impacts of CCS projects.

CCS involves a suite of technologies that can be used to prevent CO2 from power plants and large industrial facilities from entering the atmosphere. The three main steps are capturing and compressing the CO2 , transporting it to suitable storage sites, and injecting it into geologic formations for secure and permanent storage. CCS technology has the potential to achieve dramatic reductions in CO2 emissions from the electricity sector, including from coal-fueled power plants.

“Ensuring reliable, affordable energy while reducing carbon emissions is a critical challenge, and in the years ahead, carbon capture and storage will likely be an essential part of the solution,” said C2ES President Eileen Claussen. “This report provides an important technical foundation for crafting policies to put this technology to work to meet our energy, climate and economic objectives.”

The report, Greenhouse Gas Accounting Framework for Carbon Capture and Storage Projects, includes detailed methodologies to calculate emission reductions at each stage of the CCS process: CO2 capture, transport, and injection and storage. The methods were developed with input from CCS experts in industry, academia, and the environmental community (see report for list of participants). 

For CO2 capture, the report outlines methods for multiple CO2 sources, including electric power plants with pre-combustion, post-combustion, or oxy-fired technologies, and industrial facilities involved in natural gas production, fertilizer manufacturing, and ethanol production. For CO2 transport, the framework focuses on pipelines, which are the most viable transportation option for large-scale CCS. With respect to the geological storage of CO2, the framework applies to saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas fields, and enhanced oil and gas recovery sites.

Worldwide, 15 large CCS projects are in operation or under construction, according to the Global CCS Institute. Their combined CO2 storage capacity exceeds 35 million tons a year, roughly equivalent to preventing the emissions from more than 6 million cars from entering the atmosphere each year. Four CCS projects – three in the U.S. and one in Canada – have started construction since 2010, and three of these are linked to enhanced oil recovery operations. Globally, 59 additional projects are in the planning stage.

C2ES also is facilitating the National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative, a group of policymakers and stakeholders seeking to increase U.S. domestic oil production and energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using captured CO2. Recommendations for federal and state policy to ramp up CO2-EOR will be released later this year.

Additional background about CCS is available in C2ES’s Climate Techbook. For more information about the climate and energy challenge and the activities of C2ES, visit www.C2ES.org.

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About C2ES
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting strong policy and action to address the twin challenges of energy and climate change. Launched in November 2011, C2ES is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, long recognized in the United States and abroad as an influential and pragmatic voice on climate issues. C2ES is led by Eileen Claussen, who previously led the Pew Center and is the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

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