Coal and Sustainable Development - World Coal Institute Position Statement

Coal plays a fundamental role in global development, but it must meet a number of economic, social and environmental challenges to demonstrate its role in sustainable development, defined as:

'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'

(World Commission on Environment and Development - WCED 1987).

Coal is a crucial and enduring element in a modern, balanced energy portfolio, providing a bridge to the future as an important low cost and secure energy solution to sustainability challenges. The immediate task is to accelerate the deployment and further development of innovative, advanced, efficient, cleaner coal technologies – whilst continuing to meet the energy needs of society and minimising environmental impacts.

The World Coal Institute recognises and accepts the challenges of sustainability.

In addressing the challenges of sustainable development, three basic and inter-related objectives must be met:

• economic security and prosperity;
• social development and advancement; and,
• environmental sustainability.
  

Minerals-based industrial materials and the provision of adequate, reliable and affordable energy are fundamental to achieving these objectives – and for meeting the needs and aspirations of people in both developed and developing countries. Access to energy remains a critical development need, particularly for the one-third of the world’s population without electricity.

Meeting the sustainable energy challenge on a global scale in the face of rapidly growing energy demand will require innovation and acceleration of technological change across all energy sectors, including coal and other fossil fuels.

Coal is the world’s most abundant and widely distributed fossil fuel resource, emphasised by the role coal has played in underpinning world economic and social progress. Given the projected strong growth in global demand and the importance of supply security, coal will continue to be an essential part of the world’s energy and industrial materials in the foreseeable future.

The coal industry recognises the need to address issues that challenge the role of coal in the transition to a more sustainable society. These include health impacts from the domestic use of coal; environmental impacts from emissions associated with the use of coal; environmental impacts associated with coal production; and, economic and social contributions during, and at the conclusion of, mining activities.

In addressing these issues and to give practical effect to sustainable development, the World Coal Institute has identified five key actions:

• minimise coal production impacts on the biosphere (land, water) and on local communities;improve the technical and economic efficiency of energy conversion, thereby minimising resource use;
  
  
• significantly reduce ‘per unit’ emissions from the production and use of coal;
  
  
• contribute to the efficient and beneficial transfer of new and advanced cleaner coal technologies to enhance their global uptake and to assist in meeting the needs of developing countries (recognising their legitimate development aspirations and the low energy efficiency of existing thermal plant); and
  
  
• support by individual coal companies for community development initiatives to address local sustainability issues, providing enhanced economic and social opportunities relevant to the location and scale of their operations.

Continuing reductions in emissions through accelerated technology improvement and transfer are the key to effective, least cost solutions to sustainability and climate change issues, and is the industry’s major priority for the future. Past improvements – including significant increases in thermal efficiency and reductions in sulphur and nitrogen oxides (SOx, NOx) and particulate emissions – need to be more broadly adopted and enhanced. Coal also has a valuable role in improving the efficiency of other energy sources (including renewables) through synergies from combined activities, which need to be understood and applied.

The particular needs of developing countries must be addressed through practical programmes for the transfer of the most up-to-date commercial technologies, electrification, and modern combustion systems for domestic household use of coal as a transition to broader distributed and reticulated grid energy systems. Priority must be given to overcoming existing unsafe domestic use of non-commercial forms of energy, which pose adverse environmental impacts and health risks.

Policy responses must be flexible and recognise that there is no one single solution to the sustainability challenge. Effective, least cost outcomes will need markets to operate with minimum distortion, and to encourage innovation and eco-efficiency in creating enhanced economic value with reduced environmental impacts.

The World Coal Institute and its members are committed to promoting these principles and objectives and seek to work with their customers, technology suppliers, governments and international agencies.

(Source: The World Coal Institute - http://www.worldcoal.org)