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nyone working in the coal industry may have felt the heat. There have been various debates, claims and forecasts about the place of coal in the global energy race. It is all about the conflicting needs of a clean environment and the needs of developing nations for power generation.

At the UN climate conference in New York recently, more than 100 world leaders sought to curb greenhouse gas emissions that, according to scientists, could cause global warming. Meanwhile, anti-fossil fuel advocacy groups have been busy issuing reports about how damaging coal is to the environment.

Not to mention the John D. Rockefeller family of the US, who made their fortune in the oil industry, now willing to cease investment in fossil fuels to move to '€œclean, renewable energy'€.

China, the most insatiable energy-hungry nation, has recently cracked down on seaborne imports of polluting coal, another small step toward reducing carbon emissions. It is also set to level off the consumption of thermal coal by 2016, which means permanently changing the dynamics of the coal trade.

Many believe that the reign of King Coal is coming to an end, but is that really the case? You think it is a dying resource? When it comes to coal, there are plenty of paradoxes.

Currently, large numbers of new coal-fired power stations are being developed worldwide, particularly in India, China, Vietnam and Thailand, and it is expected in Indonesia under the incoming new government. India alone, which has comparatively much lower per capita emissions than China, will need room to grow its greenhouse gas emissions to extend energy access to about 400 million citizens lacking electricity.

Moreover, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, which account for a combined population of 400 millions, are busy modernizing and industrializing. It is unlikely they will do that without building a lot more cheap coal-fired power stations, as China has done.

On top of that, Japan is also utilizing more coal-fired power plants in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear reactor leak. Germany has discovered renewable-energy sources have meant its industries have become less competitive '€” triggering a return to the use of brown coal.

Recently, a vigorous international debate in climate science has erupted over a new peer-reviewed study that says the earth is less sensitive to rising levels of carbon dioxide, this scientific finding is based on actual observations rather than computer modeling.

Many are also looking closely at carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), which would capture and bury carbon dioxide from fossil fuel-fired power deep below the earth'€™s surface. Experimental CCS power stations are up and running.

It is understood that it is still very costly, but once it meets coal-fired power'€™s price advantage, that'€™s another story, coal will remain an important energy source over the medium term because of its affordability and reliability.

Coal '€” the hardest-working fuel in mankind'€™s history '€” is not out of the race. It is believed it will play a key role in the global energy race for decades ahead.

Danny Tanoto
Jakarta