Coal Is "The Foundation Of Our Prosperity"
Reinforcing his backing for coal, Prime Minister Tony Abbott, declared it ìthe foundation of our prosperityî as new research emerges indicating improvements in reducing carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations.
The Prime Minister said ìcoal is the foundation of the way we live because you canít have a modern lifestyle without energy Ö You canít have a modern economy without energy and for now and for the foreseeable future the foundation of Australiaís energy needs will be coal.
ìSo if we are serious about raising peopleís living standards in less developed countries, if we are serious about maintaining and ≠improving living standards in countries like Aus≠tralia, we have to be serious about making the best use of coal.íí
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report said burning coal for electricity must be eliminated by 2100 unless carbon dioxide emissions are captured and stored.
The Australian reported , Mining Council of Australia chief Brendan Pearson said new research by the Manhattan Institute had concluded that, between 1990 and 2010, some 832 million people gained access to electricity due to coal.
Compared to the, 65 million who gained access to electricity via non-hydro renewables.
ìThere is no escape from extreme poverty without access to cheap energy and coal is the leading option.íí
According to Mr Pearson, new supercritical coal technologies were rapidly reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
ìNew- generation plants are delivering coal-fired generation at nearly half the CO2 emissions of the global average.íí
The global average of CO2 per kilowatt hour is 1300g, currently the more efficient plants generate 743g of CO2 per kilowatt, with testing in progress to reduce this to 288g, a quarter of the current global average.
Mr Pearson said there is strong progress being made in expanding carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects around the world.
With Boundary Dam now in operation in Canada, there are 13 large-scale CCS projects operating globally, and an additional nine under construction, representing a 50 per cent increase since 2011.
Hitting back at IPCC Consultant, Elizabeth Hanna who this week said Australia would be sentencing thousands to death if it kept exporting coal.
ìDr Hanna seems unable to distinguish between ideological prejudice and scholarship. The biggest health risk facing millions around the world is a lack of access to electricity. An estimated 4.3 million people die every year as a ≠result of respiratory illness caused by using dung and wood and charcoal for cooking and heating,î Mr Pearson said.
