International
The ‘dirty’ debate
E
ncouraging though it may sound, the increasing role of coal also has its share of disapproval. In its annual Medium-Term Coal Market Report (MCMR), the International Energy Agency (IEA) has suggested that the increased burning of coal will annul the efforts to resist climatic changes. The world will burn an additional 1.2 bn tons of coal per year by 2017 compared to today, it said, terming it as bad news for the environment. The report further notes that in the absence of a high carbon price, only fierce competition from low-priced gas can effectively reduce coal demand. “The US
use in transportation would determine to what extent the emerging economies such as India and China can be free from the clutch of crude oil-slavery. Technology is the key
In order to emerge as the dominant fuel, the coal sector must address three major challenges: a) archaic mining technology in many developing countries; b) low efficiency in use of coal, c) and coal’s adverse impact on environment. Average annual global growth in oil demand by sector
56 Coal Insights, January 2013
experience suggests that a more efficient gas market, marked by flexible pricing and fueled by indigenous unconventional resources that are produced sustainably, can reduce coal use, CO2 emissions and consumers’ electricity bills, without harming energy security,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. “Europe, China and other regions should take note,” she said. The report’s forecasts are based on a troubling assumption, namely, that carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) will not be available during the outlook period. “CCS technologies are not taking off as once expected, which means CO2 emissions will keep growing substantially. Without progress in CCS, and if other countries cannot replicate the US experience and reduce coal demand, coal faces the risk of a potential climate policy backlash,” she said. Before the winds of caution could blow over, World Coal Association (WCA) came up with a quick reprisal. WCA chief executive Milton Catelin described IEA’s views as prejudiced and partisan.
In earlier reports, the IEA has already highlighted that coal has met almost half of the increase in the world’s energy demand in the past decade. They’ve also shown that coal will provide more than half of the on-grid electricity needed to meet its ‘Energy for All’ scenario – helping to lift 1.3 billion people out of energy poverty. The huge achievement in China of lifting 600 million people out of poverty since the early 1980s has been fuelled by coal. “Unfortunately, many still only see coal use through the lens of climate change,” said Catelin. These two global challenges, namely energy access and climate change, should be treated as integrated priorities, he suggested. “It’s time to add a development filter to the climate lens when looking at coal’s role in the global energy mix....Governments, the international community and the IEA need to recognise that the increasing demand for coal means they must treat it as part of the climate solution, not part of the problem,” he added.
Despite advancement in production methods and equipment, coal mining in many part of India, China, Indonesia, Ukraine and Mongolia remain outmoded and hence less efficient and risky. For instance, India till now grossly lacks technology to mine coal lying 300 mtrs below the ground. China’s coal mines, according to reports, account for 75 percent of the world’s mining fatalities while producing 40 percent of global output. The gross defiance of environmental norms at many collieries
in Indonesia and Ukraine raise concern internationally. Moreover, many potential energy sources within the ambit of coal sector remains untapped. In India, coal-to-liquid (CTL) and underground coal gasification (UCG) are still in the experimental stage. Interestingly, it is this CTL technology, which if adopted successfully, can curb the use of oil in transport and thus replace oil big time. According to WCA, coal liquefaction can help meet these countries’ future demand
Average annual global growth in oil demand in OECD countries
Average annual global growth in oil demand in developing countries