Paris, France is hosting COP21, and issues such as carbon capture and offshore wind turbines are being discussed by dozens of world leaders. In Mississippi, a well-known plant is working to showcase how carbon capture technology can actually turn discussions into actions — the Kemper Project.

By now, we have shared a lot with you regarding the technology and motivations behind Southern Company’s and Mississippi Power’s Kemper, but COP21 really puts the importance of the plant into perspective. A New York Times article, A Path for Climate Change, Beyond Paris, discusses that although the need for carbon capture is more apparent than ever, few governments have put little effort into developing it. Third Way Energy thought it was important for us to know this and other highlights, by tagging us in this tweet, and we think it’s even more important for our followers to be made aware of!

If you aren’t tracking COP21 (Twitter gave the hashtag its own emoticon), here’s what you need to know. Over the next two weeks, world leaders will be in Paris, France to discuss the topic of climate change. This event is called COP21, which stands for the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties. COP is a part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which creates an environment for the world to openly discuss how countries will reduce emissions to address climate change. As the majority of the countries in the world are stakeholders in these discussions, no topic is off limits — everything from renewables to coal, and natural resources to economic development.

What has stood out to us in these discussions is the importance of carbon capture. Countries who have almost unlimited access to coal will leverage this resource to propel the economic development of their country — energy is the lifeline. But, these countries can’t ignore the aspect of emissions, and what emissions may do to climate change. This is where the Kemper Plant comes into the picture. The technology behind Kemper is a resource for developing nations to smartly use coal.

The biggest deterrence from carbon capture has been a misunderstanding of an ideology that everything has to be renewable. What COP21 tells us is an all-of-the-above strategy to climate change must be the approach. We hope the Kemper Project will be a showcase to the world that smart coal can, and does, work!