EPA’s crackdown on power plant emissions is a big first step – but without strong certification, it will be hard to ensure captured carbon stays put

Power plants contribute a quarter of the United States' climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Howard C via Getty images

The U.S. government is planning to crack down on power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions, and, as a result, a lot of money is about to pour into technology that can capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks and lock it away.

That raises an important question: Once carbon dioxide is captured and stored, how do we ensure it stays put?