Liquid coal produces almost twice as much global warming pollution as conventional gasoline. Moreover, the large-scale deployment of liquid coal would exacerbate the impacts of coal mining on many communities and ecosystems, including polluted air and water and devastated landscapes.

During Senate consideration of H.R. 6, the energy bill, Senator James Bunning (R-KY) offered an amendment requiring that 6 billion gallons of "clean coal-derived fuels" be produced by 2022. On June 19, 2007, the Senate rejected the Bunning amendment by a 39-55 vote (Senate roll call vote 213). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE.