In a nutshell, carbon dioxide sequestration (CCS) technology involves pumping coal fumes into the ground. Estimating the costs of this technology is very difficult, but its wider application will certainly make coal power permanently uneconomical. Also, the building of CCS installations is very expensive. And there CAT can be helpful. There is nothing to prevent to finance the construction of CCS installations from CAT subsidies. There is a question about what to do where a power station will build CCS installation. Well, such a power plant burns coal, but it does not emit CO2. It will be fair to spend a whole CAT subsidy for dividends for shareholders because there have been achieved the main aim of CAT tax which is reducing CO2 to zero. In this way is there a chance that in the age of decarbonization will survive coal power stations as well as coal mines. We should also remember that coal is not only used for electricity production. It is used also by the chemical industry, steel mills, and cement plants.
The cement industry accounts for 5% of human CO2 emissions. There are three sources of this issue.
1.) Electrical energy is necessary for cement production.
2.) The process of decarbonizing the raw material. CaO3 → CaO + CO2
3.) Burning of fossil fuels necessary to receive a high temperature which is needed in the production process.
To reduce CO2 emissions from cement production, very expensive investments in new technologies are needed. Investments need to be made to improve production processes, improve cement kiln efficiency, and replace wet methods with dry and semi-dry methods. Funds for these investments can be obtained thanks to the subsidies from CAT. However, it must be honestly said that cement production alone is very energy-consuming and emissions cannot be significantly reduced without CCS installations. If we use CCS technology, then the subsidies obtained from the CAT will be able to go directly to the cement plant's account without the need to invest in zero-emission energy sources.
Similarly, we can solve the problem of steel meals which are also large CO2 emitters.
