Can Australia lead the world in carbon capture technology? The influential climate scientist James Hansen hopes so. In an open letter published last week, he asked Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd not to build any new coal-fired power plants until the technology to capture and store carbon dioxide is ready.

Australia began pumping carbon dioxide underground on Wednesday using an experimental technology that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by locking dangerous gases deep in the earth.

Global warming is one of the most devastating problems of the new millennium. The Kyoto Protocol is the first step towards an international strategy to limit greenhouse gas emissions which in turn helps to mitigate the global climate change. A decision was made in Marrakech Conference of Parties (2001), to include the afforestation and reforestation as the only eligible activities of the CDM.

Technology policy lies at the core of the climate change challenge. Even with a cutback in wasteful energy spending, our current technologies cannot support both a decline in carbon dioxide emissions and an expanding global economy. If we try to restrain emissions without a fundamentally new set of technologies, we will end up stifling economic growth, including the development prospects for billions of people.

Coal is our cheapest and most abundant source of fossil-fuel energy. We probably have enough to keep the world powered for hundreds of years.

Order of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad Vs Union of India and Others regarding fixation of net present value dated 28/03/2008.

We find that the European Union's proposed directive on carbon-capture 'readiness', as reported in your News story 'Europe to capture carbon', is unacceptable (Nature 451, 232; 2008).

Do the math: affordable new technologies can prevent global warming while fostering growth. March 2008

Germany continues to invest in brown coal mining, despite ambitious climate targets. Requirements for carbon capture and storage could eventually make the fuel unprofitable. March 2008

The EU Commission's climate package calls for a 20-per-cent reduction in emissions by 2020, a fact that may indicate they do not expect an ambitious international agreement. March 2008

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