The battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the most dangerous consequences of climate change will be waged across multiple fronts, including efforts to increase energy efficiency; efforts to deploy nonfossil fuel sources, including renewable and nuclear energy; and investment in adaptation to reduce the impacts of the climate change that will occur regardless of the actions we take.

The possibility that substantial quantities of CO2 can be injected into subsurface porous rock formations has been investigated sufficiently to show that pore space available to contain the CO2 is abundant. Multiple rock types and physical mechanisms can be used to trap the CO2 indefinitely. With careful site selection and operations, leakage to the near-surface region can be avoided.

In the coming weeks, on the plains of Inner Mongolia, China will launch
its first large-scale effort to capture and store carbon emissions from
a power plant.

Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that CO₂ emissions
from fossil fuels have caused the climate to change, and a dramatic
reduction of these emissions is essential to reduce the risk of future
devastating effects. On the other hand, access to energy is the basis
of much of the current and future prosperity of the world.

To slow the atmospheric buildup of CO₂, a report from the
U.S. National Research Council recently called for building a suite of
15 to 20 power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) before
2020. "The urgency of getting started on these demonstrations to
clarify future deployment options cannot be overstated," the report
said.

Climate change and forests are intrinsically linked. On the one hand, changes in global climate are already stressing forests through higher mean annual temperatures, altered precipitation patterns and more frequent and extreme weather events. At the same time, forests and the wood they produce, trap and store CO2, play a major role in mitigating climate change.