THE CO2 FOOTPRINT OF THE U.S. MINING INDUSTRY AND THE POTENTIAL COSTS OF CO2 LEGISLATION
Date
2008-07-21
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The International Journal of Mineral Resources Engineering
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to estimate the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions or footprint of the U.S. mining industry, and based on potential CO2 legislation estimate the cost of industry's footprint. The CO2 footprint is calculated by using a limited Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method, and the cost implications to the mining industry are evaluated using two well-known CO2 legislation frameworks: U.S. Energy Information Agency's (EIA) the National Energy Modeling Systems (NEMS) model, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model. The results of this study indicate that the mining industry currently emits 97.17 million tonnes of CO2 annually. In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions levels into the atmosphere, the government is expected to develop a federal mandate that will be structured as a CO2 tax and/or through a cap and trade system, such as that proposed by the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008. Following suit with this bill, cumulative estimated costs of a federal cap and trade system on the mining industry between 2012 and 2050 is projected to range from $162 to $417 billion.
Description
Keywords
metallurgical and materials engineering