to overtake oil as the world's most important energy source. As the backbone of the world's electricity supply, coal cannot and will not be excluded from the world's energy mix based on concern over climate change, as we collectively cannot afford to step back from an affordable, secure, safe and reliable energy resource. Coal also has a significant role to play in CO2 mitigation. Improving the efficiency of coal fired power generation and the deployment of carbon capture use and storage (CCUS) are key measures that can be taken to reduce emissions from coal combustion.In fact, improving the efficiency of coal-fired power generation is among the cheapest and easiest ways to reduce CO2 emissions. Many of the world's existing coal-fired power plants are more than 30 years old, small, and use inefficient subcritical technology. Replacing those plants with modern, highly efficient plants can lead to a dramatic reduction in emissions, and China is a world leader Pictured: Schwarze Pumpe Power Station, Germanyin this, mastering the technology and driving down the costs. A one percent increase in efficiency at a coal-fired power plant reduces CO2 emissions by around 2-3 per cent. Improving the efficiency of the oldest and most inefficient coal-fired plants would reduce global CO2 emissions from coal use by almost 25 per cent representing a 6 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions, more than the total intended effect of the Kyoto Protocol. A substantial effort should be made by governments and international institutions to support the deployment of advanced coal-fired power generation. Another technology critical for dealing with climate change is CCUS. CCUS is the technology that captures CO2 from power plants and industrial installations, uses it productively and stores it safely underground. The IEA says CCUS in particular is one of the most critical technologies to reduce CO2 emissions and combat climate change. According to the WEO 2011, CCUS will contribute around ? clean coal technology 063

22 per cent of CO2 abatement by 2035, more than the deployment of renewable energy and far more than by switching to nuclear. Without CCUS, the IEA says that the climate change mitigation effort will be as much as 70 per cent more expensive, or as much as an additional US$4.7 trillion in mitigation costs. Governments in the US, Europe, China and Australia have all announced significant support for demonstrating CCUS technology, but more action is needed to reach the IEA's target of 100 projects active by 2020. There have been major developments in CCUS deployment in recent years in the world's two largest energy consumers and producers, China and the United States. In China, a US$1 billion project is underway to build a high-efficiency, low-emission coal plant fitted with CCUS near the city of Tianjin. Construction started on the GreenGen project in June 2009 and its phased implementation is due to see a 400MW low carbon coal-fired electricity plant operating by 2018. The project is the result of significant joint investments by the Chinese Government, Huaneng Energy, the Shenhua Group, China National Coal Group and Peabody Energy, the world's largest private sector coal company, and other Chinese partners. GreenGen's CO2 offtake will be deployed initially in Bohai Bay for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).Clean coal projects with CCUS are also becoming a reality in the United States. The Texas Clean Energy Project is currently building a 200MW coal fired power plant and plans to be selling low carbon electricity by 2015. This plant using coal gasification technology will emit less than 10 per cent of the CO2 of a conventional coal plant and less than a quarter of the CO2 of a natural gas plant. Importantly this plant also has other technologies included that eradicate emissions sulphur dioxide and mercury. Demonstrating an important innovation to make CCUS commercially viable, the captured carbon from this plant will be utilised for EOR as well.Both GreenGen and the Texas project will boost clearly needed new sources of oil for China, the United States and the world even as the commercial viability of carbon capture and use projects for other countries and applications is established. The world may be short of easily accessible low sulphur crude oil but it is not short of coal. Coal-to-liquid projects with CO2 deployed for EOR will materially increase needed transportation fuels with excellent emission profiles to continue to power the world economy. Deploying advanced coal-fired power generation and CCUS in developing countries will be a key means of delivering cleaner base-load energy to those who need it most, meeting a basic human right. 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.Right: Milton Catelin Far right: Fredrick D. Palmer" Coal will play a crucial role in bringing energy to those who do not have access to it "064 clean coal technologyFigure 2: global energy poverty