Climate effects of electricity production fuelled by coal, forest slash and municipal solid waste with and without carbon capture

We analyse the climate implications of producing electricity in large-scale conversion plants using coal, forest slash and municipal solid waste with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS). We calculate the primary energy, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emission profiles, and the cumulative radiative forcing (CRF) of different systems that produce the same amount of electricity. We find that using slash or waste for electricity production instead of coal somewhat increases the instantaneous CO2 emission from the power plant, but avoids significant subsequent emissions from decaying slash in forests or waste in landfills. For slash used instead of coal, we find robust near- and long-term reductions in total emissions and CRF. Climate effects of using waste instead of coal are more ambiguous: CRF is reduced when CCS is used, but without CCS there is little or no climate benefits of using waste directly for energy, assuming that landfill gas is recovered and used for electricity production. The application of CCS requires more fuel, but strongly reduces the CO2 emissions. The use of slash or waste together with CCS results in negative net emissions and CRF, i.e. global cooling. •Using slash or waste for energy emits CO2 from power plants, but avoids CO2 and CH4 emissions from forests or landfills.•Using forest slash for energy instead of coal gives robust short- and long-term climate benefits.•Using waste instead of coal gives questionable climate benefits, if the waste would otherwise be landfilled properly.