The Obama administration says these investments are needed to curb global warming

Nov 8, 2013 21:06 GMT  ·  By

This past Thursday, the Obama administration went public with the news that it had given the green light to 18 carbon capture and storage projects.

Specifically, it has agreed to invest $84 million (€62.34) in developing technologies said to help put a leash on climate change and global warming by limiting the amounts of carbon dioxide that enter our planet's atmosphere.

The 18 research projects funded by the Obama administration are to focus on improving the efficiency and lowering the costs of carbon capture processes.

Otherwise put, scientists are supposed to figure out the best and most cost-effective way to capture the carbon released by coal-fired power plants and store it in the underground so as to keep it from promoting climate change and global warming.

“As part of the President’s all-of-the-above approach to develop clean and affordable sources of American energy, the projects announced today will focus on the next generation of carbon capture technologies – helping to drive down the cost, increase efficiency and ensure America’s continued international leadership in combating climate change,” reads a statement issued by US Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

The Secretary also stresses that, although the Obama administration is ready and willing to invest in harvesting green energy sources, this does not change the fact that, for the time being, the country still relies heavily on fossil fuels and must therefore do its best to lower their ecological footprint.

“In the past four years we’ve more than doubled renewable energy generation from wind and solar power. However, coal and other fossil fuels still provide 80 percent of our energy, 70 percent of our electricity, and will be a major part of our energy future for decades.”

“That’s why any serious effort to protect future generations from the worst effects of climate change must also include developing, demonstrating and deploying the technologies to use our abundant fossil fuel resources as cleanly as possible,” argues Secretary Ernest Moniz.

News of these investments comes shortly after a group of scientists announced that, according to their investigations, the practice of injecting carbon in the underground in an attempt to limit climate change and global warming can, under certain circumstances, cause earthquakes to occur.