In addition to the currently regulated air pollutants, gasification also adds greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere. The biggest contributor to global warming, carbon dioxide, could soon
be regulated as a pollutant by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
It is the release of carbon, carbon that has been locked up in fossil deposits for millions of
years, that is driving global warming. However, carbon released into the atmosphere from
burning or gasification also adds to greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. Over time some of
this carbon is taken up again by new growth in forests, but in the short-term the damage is done.
Waste gasification adds both directly and indirectly to the build-up of greenhouse gases
(GHG) in the earth’s atmosphere. It is not a solution to global warming; it is instead part of the
problem—a part that should be eliminated as a waste management option.