Coal pollution mitigation to encourage the introduction of coal pollution mitigation and other technologies to reduce environmental impact. Combustion of coal--which is mostly carbon--produces carbon dioxide as a product of combustion. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the burning of coal, a fossil fuel, is a significant contributor to global warming. (See the UN IPCC Fourth Assessment Report). For 1 ton of coal burned, 2.86 tons of carbon dioxide is created. Carbon sequestration technology has yet to be tested on a large scale and may not be safe or successful. Sequestered CO may eventually leak up through the ground,
Environmental impact of the coal industry the environment. While these substances are trace impurities, enough coal is burned that significant amounts of these substances are released. During combustion, the reaction between coal and the air produces oxides of carbon, including carbon dioxide (CO, an important greenhouse gas), oxides of sulfur (mainly sulfur dioxide, SO), and various oxides of nitrogen (NO). Because of the hydrogenous and nitrogenous components of coal, hydrides and nitrides of carbon and sulfur are also produced during the combustion of coal in air. These include hydrogen cyanide (HCN), sulfur nitrate (SNO) and other toxic substances. SO and nitrogen oxide react in the atmosphere