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A CLEAN
energy plan funded by one of the world’s largest banks
still allows the use of coal, the dirtiest fuel known to
humankind. When burned to produce energy, coal also
emits toxic chemicals harmful to the environment and
dangerous to human health.
However,
a recent report funded by the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking
Corp. (HSBC) in partnership with the World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF) has not ruled out the use of the solid fuel
nor does it intend to reduce dependence on coal,
currently the cheapest energy source.
Instead,
the plan, entitled Global Energy Vision for 2050,
enumerated six solutions to address global warming,
including reliance on carbon capture and storage (CCS)
technologies.
Although
equipment which traps carbon emitted by burning coal is
commercially available, storing these emissions in
underground reservoirs remains untried.
This
much is admitted by Greg Bourne, chief executive officer
of WWF-Australia. In an interview immediately after a
Monday Makati City forum, Bourne told BusinessMirror
that the success of CCS is still at “50-50.”
“It’s
whether or not particular reservoirs in which the gases
can be pumped are big enough to hold them in sufficient
quantities and secure them for 10,000 to 20,000 years,”
said Bourne, who was employed by BP for nearly 40 years.
Despite
these prospects, Bourne remains optimistic that
advancements regarding the technology will soon be
introduced “within the next 10 to 15 years.” His
estimates are far more positive than the ones made by an
Australian coal industry consulting firm.
In a
recent Bloomberg report datelined Sydney, Paul Taliangis,
chief executive of Core Collaborative Pty., whose
clients include Australia’s two biggest energy
retailers, said it will take 20 to 30 years for carbon
capture and storage to become economically feasible.
Various
reports also indicate that CCS, once feasible, is
expected to consume more power by 10 percent to 40
percent.
“We are
using so much coal and that you cannot turn coal off
instantaneously,” he said. “Companies within countries
that are dependent on coal are invested into finding to
make CCS work so they’ll try as hard as they can for 10
or 15 years.”
Although
the
United States
has approved the construction of FutureGen, the world’s
first CCS power plant, it has yet to make an
announcement regarding the site’s location. As of July
2006, the US Department of Energy has yet to choose
which among four sites in Texas and Illinois would be
the best fit for FutureGen. For its part, BP, has
abandoned a similar CCS project in Scotland last May,
according to the online edition of Forbes Magazine.
Besides
the US and China, Australia is also heavily reliant on
coal, being the world’s largest exporter of the solid
fuel. Coal produces one third more carbon than oil.
Coal-fired power plants have also been identified as
sources of trace elements of neurotoxin mercury. Less
than a teaspoon of the chemical could contaminate a
10-hectare lake and render its fish unsafe for human
consumption, according to the US National Wildlife
Federation.
During
his presentation, Bourne also warned that failing to act
on climate change within the next five years may make
the effects of global warming irreversible. Global
warming results from burning fossil fuels, including
coal.
Once
global temperatures rise faster than expected, ice caps
will continue to melt, raising sea levels and
threatening to submerge many low-lying areas across the
world, including parts of Metro Manila.
Among
the report’s proposed solutions to avert the damages
expected from global warming include using energy more
efficiently, reducing deforestation, determining a
single market price for carbon emissions (for purposes
of carbon trading and taxation), development of flexible
forms of energy, and the establishment of a new energy
infrastructure compatible with renewable sources. |
