Rising emissions of CO₂ in the atmosphere have become an increasing concern in recent years as growing evidence links greenhouse gasses to global warming, yet these emissions are the by-product of the majority of essential energy sources in place today (e.g. fossil fuels). In addition to efforts to capture and store CO₂ in hopes of relieving the greenhouse effect, the conversion of CO₂ to value added fuels and chemical feedstock is an attractive proposition that may provide an alternative solution to both the current energy crisis and climate issues. In this presentation, an overview will be provided on the utilization of a full electrochemical cell to study the selectivity of durability of metallic and nonmetallic electrocatalysts for the conversion of CO₂ to gaseous or liquid fuels.  Special attention will be given to the chemical origin of selectivity and durability of this electrochemical process.