TEXT OF STORY

Bill Radke: The global-climate conference in Copenhagen is in December, and there is a growing chance the world will not agree on a new climate treaty. But some U.S. energy firms aren’t waiting to find out. They’re cooperating with the Chinese to cut carbon emissions. Marketplace’s Ashley Milne Tyte has more.

Ashley Milne-Tyte: Albert Lin is with Future Fuels, a U.S. company that develops clean coal projects.

The firm has just done a deal with China’s largest utility, Huaneng Power. Lin says Huaneng is the world’s biggest polluter. But it’s also invested a lot of money lately in burning coal more efficiently and emitting less carbon.

ALBERT LIN: And that’s what started our relationship with them, in borrowing some of their advances in technologies but also giving them some of our expertise in uh, clean up and handling of CO2 and other aspects.

Lin says some of Huaneng’s technology will also help Future Fuels with a power plant it’s building in Pennsylvania. The aim is to burn coal more efficiently and stash half its carbon output underground when it starts up in 2012.

Some experts say its unclear how safe or realistic it is to bury emissions. But others say we’ve got to try. Coal is still a major source of power generation.

I’m Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.