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,
Ocean storage of carbon dioxide IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme estimates that dilute carbon dioxide injection would cost $70 per tonne of carbon dioxide including costs of carbon capture, transport, and storage before boat dispersal. Carbon dioxide ocean storage can occur through solid or solid hydrate of carbon dioxide. The solid state density of carbon dioxide is approximately 1.5 times greater than seawater and thus tends to sink to the ocean floor. The dissolving rate at the surface is about 0.2 cm/hr such that a small quantity of carbon dioxide can be completely dissolved before reaching the sea floor. In addition to solid carbon dioxide