Bangkok--Jan 26--Greenpeace
With formidable community opposition and without a clear path towards innovation, the coal industry is facing a most fundamental truth: the end of this dirty industry is in sight.
For two days, the coal industry isolated itself in Lampang, Thailand -
- fenced by heavy police presence to ward off protesting communities -
- to talk about developments in their much maligned industry at CoalTrans Conference. But while short-term answers can still be found, nothing seems to be in sight for the industry's medium and long-term challenges especially when it comes to eliminating or even reducing greenhouse gases, the prime culprit for global climate change.
And in telltale signs of a business going bad, the conference did not
even touch on the sensitive issue of carbon emissions trading. The Kyoto-Protocol gets into force in February 16 and along with its enforcement is the implementation of emissions trading. The EU has already agreed to carbon reduction targets, and has started emissions trading - including carbon dioxide emissions from coal and lignite power plants - which will significantly restrict operations of coal power plants and ultimately hurt their bottom line in the long-term.
This is because of a quota system that forces companies to pay for
their excess in carbon quotas. CoalTrans failed to inform government delegates who attended about the economic impact of emissions trading for the use of coal.
"The aim to host the CoalTrans conference in Thailand was obviously to promote the extensive use of coal, to change the current Thai energy policy away form natural gas and renewables towards lignite and imported coal. But the conference presented very little arguments to justify further investments towards coal and lignite," said Kittikhun Kittiaram, climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
The coal industry also left decision-makers in the dark about the
possible cost development of the world market price for coal.
"Clearly, the coal industry is at a loss as to where it's heading.
But this industry has been making itself believe that it has a vision, whereas the reality is that it is an industry that does not have a future," said Sven Teske, energy campaigner of Greenpeace International.
In stark contrast, renewable energy is growing at very high levels.
According to the European Wind Energy Association, wind energy in areas where there is good flow of wind, such as in the Philippines, will be competitive or even cheaper than gas fired power plants within the next 5 years (Gas fired power plants are currently the cheapest electricity source in most parts of the world). Indigenous fuels like biomass, which is in the hands of farmers and communities,
remains untouched in the debate.
"Finally, the CoalTrans conference proves that the coal industry has
no practical answers very pressing questions: a significant reduction of CO2 to avoid dangerous climate change; development of secure energy supply to reduce dependence on energy imports; and creation of sustainable energy supply with long-term positive job effects," said Teske. "Renewable energy is the true answer to all these three. The coal industry can not survive because of their own strength, but on the current weakness of support for renewable energy."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Sven Teske, +491718787552
Kittikhun Kittiaram, +661 3721149
Arthur Jones Dionio, +661 9254835
Photos and video footage available upon request.
Arthur Jones Dionio
Greenpeace Southeast Asia
Tel: +661 9254835 (Bangkok), +63920 2390704 (Manila)
Fax: +662 2714243 End.