New Delhi: Chief executive officer (CEO) of FutureCoal Michelle Manook on Wednesday said that a misinformed coal narrative, misinforms the market and the narrative of ‘cancel coal culture’ must be corrected if we are to achieve global economic and sustainability goals.
She said this while addressing the 5th annual India Coal Conference here on the issue of ‘The Last 12 Months for Global Coal.’
Formerly the World Coal Association, FutureCoal, the Global Alliance for Sustainable Coal, is a multi-lateral organisation representing the entire coal value chain including coal producers, suppliers, and consumers such as power, steel, cement, aluminium, and the technologists which pave the way for a modernised and responsible industry. Launched in New Delhi, the organisation advocates and educates on the total contribution of coal.
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“The coal value chain is an integrated global supply chain. Government and finance policies, which embrace a ‘cancel coal’ mantra, are short-sighted and undermine the very ambitions we seek to achieve as a global community,” Manook emphasised.
FutureCoal is underpinned by its Sustainable Coal Stewardship (SCS) roadmap, which speaks to the abatement opportunities available to the coal value chain across pre-combustion, combustion, and beyond combustion phases. Under SCS the definition of abatement is expanded beyond CCS/CCUS to include the raft of processes, technologies, and innovation which exists across the coal value chain that meaningfully contributes to sustainability through efficiency, emissions, waste management, recycling, safety, and other practices.
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Further, within coal combustion, up to 99% of coal pollutants can be abated with existing technologies. The FutureCoal global alliance is uniting under this common purpose. The platform also provides the opportunity for collaboration across sectors and geographies.
“The reality is, coal will be here for the foreseeable future, and the future of coal beyond combustion gains steady momentum. As a coal value chain, we need to transform, unite, and ensure that a responsible narrative informs global policy setting,” stated the FutureCoal CEO.
She further added, “We need to reframe this debate to the reality. There is no legitimate reason for coal not to participate in any energy transition. Abated coal solutions exist and they must be embraced.”
