Cleaner Coal Technologies Crucial for Meeting Energy Demand and Reducing Carbon Emissions in Asia

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Ha Long City, Vietnam - More than 100 energy experts voiced support for accelerated use of cleaner coal technologies to limit environmental degradation from rapidly increasing coal use in Asia.

They noted that coal use in Asia is expected to increase by over 400% by 2030, triggering increases in fuel prices and greater emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Asia's problems could be worsened by many plants' low efficiency and the region's low emissions standards and by monitoring and compliance systems that are not stringent enough.

The Asia-Pacific region needs better cleaner coal technology and more sources for financing projects, said Le Duong Quang, a vice minister from Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade, at the Cleaner Coal Workshop on Solutions to Asia's Growing Energy and Environmental Challenges. Countries in the region should strengthen their regulations and standards and adopt cleaner coal technologies and practices as the "minimum standard," Mr. Quang said.

Without capturing and storing carbon emissions from coal power plants on a long-term basis, the world will not be able to limit future carbon emissions to safe levels, warned Milton Catelin of the World Coal Institute. While this technology is currently very expensive, developing countries need to prepare today by investing in high-efficiency power plants that can later be retrofitted with these systems, Mr. Catelin said in his keynote address.

The energy experts, policy makers, utility operators and project developers attending the workshop this week are sharing best practices and lessons learned, and identifying areas for regional cooperation to improve standards and regulations for coal power plants.  They are seeking increased adoption of high-efficiency technologies in new plants, the retrofitting of older power plants to improve energy and emissions performance, and the use soft loans and carbon funds to help make advanced technologies more affordable.

Discussions are expected to lead to policy recommendations to national governments and regional bodies including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Forum on Coal.

The workshop is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), APEC, and the ASEAN forum on Coal (AFOC). It is hosted by the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (VINACOMIN).

Through its ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program, which organized the event, USAID is helping Asia's fastest-growing economies meet energy needs through initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy security in high-priority sectors, including coal.

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