The United States needs abundant, affordable energy to ensure sustained economic growth and development. Inexpensive energy has fueled development and enhanced the quality of life in the United States and the world. Looking ahead, the world's energy use probably will rise, and the cost per unit of energy will rise. India and China, representing about 40 percent of the world's population and with high economic growth rates, are destined to consume far more energy in the future.

Global growth in energy use raises serious concerns about the supply of energy. And scientists have come to a consensus that the Earth's future is threatened by the accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide, leading to global warming from the use of fossil fuels including coal, oil, gasoline and natural gas.

About 85 percent of the United States' and the world's energy needs are met by fossil fuels, all yielding CO2 in the process. Thus, addressing global warming is a daunting challenge. Adverse consequences of global warming are difficult to assess quantitatively, but the risk is so great that we must succeed in meeting this challenge.

The National Research Council convened its Committee on America's Energy Future during the Bush administration, and the committee recently completed some of its work. The charge to the committee was to assess what would be technologically feasible to meet America's energy needs (affordable, secure, abundant, environmentally sound) and to assess the cost and timeframe for changes. An overarching conclusion is that a comprehensive transformation of America's energy technologies is both needed and possible, and that it is necessary to take some immediate steps to assure a bright future for the United States.

There are two near-term imperatives. First, we must deploy known technologies to improve the efficiency of systems, devices, buildings and vehicles to save reduce energy use by as much as 15 percent by 2020.

Second, at the utility plant scale, we must establish the technological viability and cost of capturing and safely storing CO2 emitted from a coal-fired power plant. Both are expensive, but improving energy efficiency has a sure reward, and establishing a practical technology for safe, cost-effective capture and storage of CO2 will provide a sure option for the use of coal as a major energy resource with less environmental adversity.

FutureGen, a demonstration project for CO2 capture and safe storage in central Illinois, is a key project that must move forward if we are to ensure that the technology will be viable on a large scale. Coal provides about 50 percent of U.S. electricity (70 percent in China) and is the source of about 85 percent of the electricity in Missouri. Coal is abundant and accessible, and yet without assurance that the CO2 problem can be managed, we face the prospect of extremely adverse global climate changes from its use.

A barrier to improving energy efficiency is the money needed to deploy the technology. Many homeowners lack the cash to invest in energy-saving technologies, despite the benefits from doing so. Similarly, large institutions, such as Washington University, need capital to improve the operating efficiency of their older buildings. Public policy should be developed to accelerate improved efficiency. Great U.S. corporations such as St. Louis-based Emerson stand ready to provide the commercial technology that is vital to improving efficiency.

A third imperative relates to our long-term future. Ultimately, America's energy future depends on the development of many energy supplies, including nuclear, solar photovoltaics, biofuels, wind, geothermal and hydro. Expanding any of these poses challenges, including cost, environmental concerns, appropriate use of land and, for nuclear, the radioactive waste and proliferation of nuclear weapons. It is essential that the United States embark upon a massive, sustained research and development effort to assure energy supply options and to establish the United States as the world leader in energy technology.

The rest of the world, most especially China, is aggressively pursuing the development of new energy technologies through ambitious energy research and development efforts. Success in addressing global warming ultimately will involve international cooperation, but the United States must be ready with the best technology in the world. We cannot leave America's energy future to others, because energy is so vital to our economic security.

America's technology-based companies, research universities, and national laboratories define "world class." Let's support them to assure a bright energy future for the U.S. and the world.

Mark S. Wrighton is the chancellor of Washington University. He holds a doctorate in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and has done fundamental research on energy conversion technologies. He is vice chair of a National Research Council Committee on America's Energy Future. These are his views and do not represent those of the committee or its members.