The United Nations has declared 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All and energy access is a key issue for discussion at Rio+20. One of the issues to be discussed at the summit will be progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals agreed at the Millennium Summit in New York in 2000. There has been too little progress in achieving those goals, and the focus needs to move to energy supply, meaning coal. Also achieving many of those goals requires access to electricity and yet there is no energy access target under the Millennium Development Goals. How the world addresses this gap will be a key outcome for the Rio Summit. Coal will play a crucial role in bringing energy to those who do not have access to it. According to the IEA, more than half of the on-grid electricity additions needed to meet its energy for all target will come from coal. Coal is the essential resource in many developing countries. For example, in South Africa coal is being used to bring electricity to some of the 12.5 million people, 25 per cent of the South African population, who lack it. This electricity will help address the fact that half of South Africa's population lives in poverty. What many observers do not highlight about the IEA's energy access targets however is that it would only bring enough electricity to meet the immediate challenge for the world's poor. According to the IEA its target would "in rural areas . provide for the use of a floor fan, a mobile telephone and two compact fluorescent light bulbs for about five hours per day. In urban areas, consumption might also include an efficient refrigerator, a second mobile telephone per house and another appliance, such as a small television or a computer." This does not account for the electricity needed to power major social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals. Even more importantly it does not provide the electricity needed to fuel business and industry to drive the economic development so desperately needed to create the jobs that would truly lead to increases in prosperity and the genuine eradication of poverty.So while the IEA has a new focus on energy access, its view is limited and the IEA needs to expand its pro-people horizon. Every human on earth has the right to live as well as citizens of countries in the developed world. None of us in the developed world would accept the IEA's limits on access to electricity.To meet this substantial need for electricity, significant additions to base-load power generation will need to be made in developing countries. This will require significant investments in clean coal technology to provide electricity needed to fuel this economic development. With international support, this increase in coal-fired power supply can be done consistent with climate objectives. International institutions such as the World Bank and other development banks, the Clean Development Mechanisms and the Green Climate Fund must all provide support for the deployment of advanced coal-fired power generation and CCUS technology. The world faces significant climate and energy challenges and all technologies have a role to play in addressing these challenges. It is clear though that in this space coal will be front and centre in global efforts to mitigate climate change and to provide real energy access to those who currently struggle without it, allowing more people to live longer and live better. nFor more information please visit: www.worldcoal.org Follow WCA on Twitter: @WorldCoalAbout the AuthorsFred Palmer is Chairman of the WCA and Senior Vice President of Government Relations at Peabody Energy. He is responsible for advancing US government and global policy, unlocking coal's potential as the world's future fuel. A member of the National Coal Council, Executive Committee, and Chairman, Coal Policy Committee, he is also on the Board of Directors of the FutureGen Alliance.Milton Catelin is Chief Executive of the World Coal Association. He has worked with the UN Environment Programme as Chief of Partnerships & Public Affairs, and was a chief negotiator for Australia on both the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change (1996 - 1998) and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. He also served on Tony Blair's "Breaking the Deadlock" climate change initiative." According to the IEA, there are currently 1.3 billion people worldwide who lack access to electricity, and around 2.7 billion who lack access to clean cooking fuels "clean coal technology 063

Coal and Oil: Their Role in Fueling our Future Peter Bond, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Linc Energy Ltd Balancing the demands of energy security, efficiency and environmental protection, the so-called 3Es, presents a complex set of challenges for countries wanting to use resources within their borders to power their economies but not at the cost of the environment. Within this scenario, traditional resources such as coal and oil can be overlooked, however technology and demand are creating a renewed interest in coal and prompting a new look at oil reserves that were previously considered depleted. The World Energy Outlook 2011 said ".significant technological improvements do occur, aided by higher energy prices."1 Linc Energy is a company focused on realising the value of resources through our advanced, proprietary technology, as follows: n Utilising Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) to harness the potential of stranded coal, which is too deep to mine;n Using the syngas produced via UCG to create clean diesel fuel through Gas to Liquids (GTL) processing; and n Extracting the maximum amount of oil from previously tapped wells, using Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR.) I am often asked what Linc Energy is all about and I am pleased to respond by saying that our approach to energy production is about fueling the future and in this International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, it seems particularly relevant. My company shares many of the views expressed by this important initiative, such as: "Energy is opportunity. It transforms lives. Economies ..."2 Linc Energy is a diverse, publicly listed company, active all over the world in search of opportunities to create energy. We have three energy divisions: Oil and Gas & Enhanced Oil Recovery; Coal and Clean Energy. When I took over the company in 2004, it was in the firm belief that UCG and GTL could provide a significant choice for countries looking to overcome fuel challenges - particularly in relation to transportation fuels - and to do so economically. Since then, Linc Energy has grown to be a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (LNC) with a market capitalisation of AU$1.5 billion and which is traded in the United States via the OTCQX (LNCGY.) Globally, 2012 will see a series of major meetings and initiatives: the world's leading industrialised nations will meet at the G8 Summit in the United States in May and the Rio+20 Summit will mark 20 years since the Rio Earth Summit. This confirms to me just how crucial it is that the world looks at solutions that are currently being put into practice. UCG and GTL are not in the distant or even medium-term future, they are providing solutions now. These solutions will help meet burgeoning demand, particularly in transportation fuels, that will only grow over the next 20-plus years. Scenarios developed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) predict that: "All of the net increase in oil demand comes from the transport sector in emerging economies, as economic growth pushes up demand for personal mobility and freight. Oil demand (excluding bio-fuels) rises from 87 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2010 to 99 mb/d in 2035. The total number of passenger cars doubles to almost 1.7 billion in 2035. Sales in non-OECD markets exceed those in the OECD by 2020 ."3 ? Below: Linc Energy diesel Dash Right: Peter Bond064 clean coal technology