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For many developing countries, especially those across emerging Asia, excluding coal from the energy mix is simply not an option because improved energy access drives
economic development.
According to the IEA's Energy Access Outlook 2017 report, nearly all of those who gained access to electricity worldwide in the last 16 years, did so through new grid
connections, mostly from fossil fuels – 45% of which came from coal. It currently provides 38% of the world's electricity and is essential in the production of 71.5% of the
world's steel and 70% of cement.
Rising coal use in Asia also highlights a need for greater focus on emissions reduction. This is why as an organisation, the WCA works with stakeholders to promote the
role that technology can play in helping coal-reliant countries to develop a pathway for zero emissions coal. This way countries can balance economic priorities with climate
objectives.
Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, the World Coal Association has encouraged and supported the 24 countries, representing half of the world's emissions, that identified a
role for cleaner coal technology within their climate pledges.
Raising capital for long-term energy infrastructure investments:
With this in mind, power producers need to raise project capital at the lowest cost possible in order to build energy infrastructure that will deliver reliable electricity at
affordable prices and, at the same time, have the required environmental controls to reduce emissions.
In less developed economies, however, raising this finance can present significant challenges as local capital markets may not support the type of long-term financing
required for energy infrastructure investments.
A number of international financial institutions, such as multilateral development banks (MDBs), have been established to address these challenges and promote growth in
emerging economies. Since 2013, however, the World Bank and several other similar bodies have adopted policies that concentrate lending on a narrow portfolio of
technologies, while excluding others. Support for coal-fuelled power, for instance, may only be given in 'rare and exceptional circumstances'.
The introduction of such measures appears at odds with the role coal-fuelled power is expected to play in many developing and emerging countries. In 2018, there was 492
GW of coal capacity under construction or in development globally, complementing the 2TW in operation.
Rather than curtailing demand for coal, there is growing evidence that the approach followed by the World Bank has created a void filled by alternative funding partners
that often may not apply the same stringent efficiency standards and environmental protections that MDBs have historically championed.
Supporting low emission coal technologies:
There is growing momentum towards reviewing international coal financing. The WCA would encourage any new approach to be based on these two-steps:
- Support the switch to best available high efficiency low emissions (HELE) technology: the construction of the most suitable HELE coal plant with modern emission
control technologies where that facilitates the delivery of commitments made by a country within their NDC under the Paris Agreement. Wherever practical, the involvement
of the World Bank or other MDBs in financing such projects should facilitate the inclusion of concepts of CCUS-readiness in plant design.
- Help drive the pathway to zero emissions from coal: engage with the relevant national government to support strategies for the development of CCUS technology as part
of that country's long-term climate action plan under the Paris Agreement.
The World Coal Association sees a critical role for the World Bank and other financial institutions in extending financing to encourage cleaner forms of power from coal.
Coal will have a continuing part to play in the global energy mix for decades to come. Accordingly, we should work to ensure the best available technologies are deployed.
ENERGY EDUCATION: MINING
Reforming World Bank policy also provides the opportunity to help drive zero emissions from coal by adopting long-term climate action plans that support the deployment of
carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS).
A MONTHLY UPDATE ON THE MINING INDUSTRY
THE WEEKLY ANCHOR
PAGE 28 MONDAY AUGUST 19, 2019
ACE & WCA are Partnering for Clean Coal Technology
THE WEEKLY ANCHOR MONDAY OCTOBER 21, 2019 PAGE 27 Reducing emissions from coal: A role for the World Bank
A Monthly Update on the Coal Industry
Gasification converts carbon-based
‘Decision the result of a failure to build a genuine coalition on climate action...’
material into energy without burning
Gasification may also be one of the best ways
Environment Gasification is a thermal process that to produce clean-burning hydrogen for fuel power-generating turbines, or as the
chemical building blocks for a wide range of
converts any carbon-based material into
energy without burning it. tomorrow's cars and power-generating fuel cells. commercial products, including diesel and
The Canadian coal industry is committed to operating in an The carbon-containing feedstock is reacted Hydrogen and other coal gases can be used to other transport fuels.
environmentally responsible manner, and to continuously searching with either air or oxygen in a gasifier, which
for ways to reduce or eliminate what impact it may have associated breaks down the mixture into “synthesis gas”
with the mining and use of coal. or “syngas”. Emissions from gasification can
be easily captured because of the high
At the Mine Site
WCA comments on the IEA's 2018 pressure and, often, concentrations.
The environment is a fundamental consideration in the production,
Coal is the primary feedstock for
gasification and will continue to be the
transportation and use of coal in Canada and the coal industry has
initatives that address land use, waste, air and water quality, noise dominant feedstock for the foreseeable future.
The current growth of coal as a gasification
and emissions.
World Energy Investment report feedstock is largely as a result of new Chinese
Some of the ways that environmental impacts are reduced:
coal-to-chemicals plants. Modern gasification
technologies incorporate significant
·
mining trucks have increased significantly in size reducing
the amount of trips needed to haul coal improvements compared to earlier versions –
including increased flexibility, vastly
· railway cars made of aluminum mean one locomotive can increased scale and new applications are
haul more coal using the same amount of fuel driving gasification technologies to gain
· mining drills include dust collection systems greater prominence.
· air quality and monitoring stations measure air quality on
site
Several years before a mine begins operation, planning goes into
how the mine can be reclaimed to the same or even better
conditions. Environmental impact assessments take place, public
consultations are held and thorough reviews are undertaken by
regulatory agencies at the provincial and federal level. Mining Sponsored by The Weekly Anchor and
companies are required to report on their reclamation plan and industry supporters of responsible energy
progress to the government.
More than 75 of the land disturbed by coal mining in Alberta has
been reclaimed.
At the Power Plant THE
The use of any natural resource for energy will have varying GERING WEEKLY
degrees of impact on the natural environment. Effective GRAVEL SALES ANCHOR
technologies have been developed to tackle environmental
challenges, including the release of pollutants – such as sulfer and 5040 3rd Avenue
nitrogen. More recently, the focus has been on developing and 780-723-5787
deploying technologies to tackle greenhouse gas emissions
associated with the use of coal, including carbon dioxide and
methane.

























CRUSHED GRAVEL - PIT RUN - WASHED ROCK -


PEA GRAVEL - SAND - LOADERS - GRADERS
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