There is a role for coal in the future of the Asia Pacific: WWF
04 Sep 2007
By Jane Hammond
The Asia Pacific's unfettered use of coal threatens to result in cataclysmic global climate change and social and environmental upheaval but despite this, a new WWF report finds there is a role for coal in a carbon-constrained energy future.
The report, Coming Clean: The Truth and Future of Coal in the Asia Pacific, released on the eve of the APEC summit in Sydney, acknowledges that coal use is an important part of the emerging economies in the region, in particular China and India.
It finds coal has a role to play in meeting the region's energy demands but that it must be reduced to no more than 20 per cent of all energy produced; tempered with the introduction of cleaner coal technologies, specifically carbon capture and storage (CCS); and regulated by government policies designed to better protect local environments and communities.
With 88 per cent of the current global increase in coal use coming from the developing nations of Asia, the report says industrialised nations need to assist developing economies to implement low emissions technologies in order to prevent dangerous global climate change.
To do this will require new forms of technology transfer, it says.
Based on independent analyses commissioned by WWF from energy experts across the region, the report finds that the market value of coal does not reflect its toll on human health and the local and global environment.
If these factors were taken into account alternative energy technologies including low emission coal technologies would be more economic, it says.
"Coal's impacts on the region range from the depletion of arable soil, to diminishing clean water supplies and severe air pollution to grave respiratory illness and displaced and disenfranchised communities," the report says
"But coal's greatest threat is its significant contributions to global warming, which stands to unleash potentially cataclysmic environmental impacts."
Author of the report, WWF International's Asia Pacific Coal Initiative Co-ordinator, Ina Pozon said the intent of the report was to give a comprehensive picture of coal use in the region.
"The Asia Pacific's coal use is not just a climate change issue but is also a community and local environmental issue. Coal currently plays a dominant role in developing countries, such as China and India, and it is unrealistic to expect an immediate shift away from coal," Pozon said.
"The report provides parameters that define responsible coal use that allow developing countries to continue using this fuel to achieve economic growth, while minimizing its impact on people and the planet, particularly when it comes to global warming."
The WWF report 'Coming Clean: The Truth and Future of Coal in Asia Pacific' can be downloaded from: http://assets.panda.org/downloads/coming_clean.pdf
Find out more
Jacqueline McArthur, Media Communications Manager, WWF-Australia
Mobile: 0408 626 780
Email: jmcarthur@wwf.org.au
Brian Thomson, WWF International
Mobile: +41 79 477 3559
Email: bthomson@wwfint.org
