Finally, the Ultimate Question for Coal = CO2
President Bush’s team decided CO2 is not a “pollutant”
Pollutants controlled by EPA
Coal’s future - and role in U.S. energy picture and economy - too important to leave to EPA alone
Ultimately coal’s future will be dealt with in Congress as part of much broader economic and environmental policy making effort
Likely outcome: some sort of efficiency incentive for new as well as existing plants that provides the industry a 10-20 year transition time (rather than a drastic cap on CO2 emissions).