Development Groups: More Coal Plants Will Not End Energy Poverty

By Joshua Learn

S&P Global Market Intelligence: (October 2016)

 

 

Coal-fired generation is not the answer for fighting energy poverty, according to a new position paper from international development organizations.

 

The paper, "Beyond Coal," released by the Overseas Development Institute and a consortium of other international groups focused on fighting poverty, among other things, disputed claims by the fossil fuel industry that coal should play a central role in efforts to eliminate extreme poverty and improve access to energy for billions of people in developing countries.

 

The paper also called for an end to subsidies that help the coal industry across the world. Betsy Monseu, spokesperson for the American Coal Council, noted that subsidies are responsible for the declining cost of renewable energy. "These subsidies have absolutely dwarfed incentives for carbon capture and storage, both in the U.S. and worldwide."

 

The ACC's Monseu said the authors of the paper acknowledged the importance of coal in China's development, which she called a "resounding economic success story," and also that the Asian country was making "great strides" in improving emissions from sulfur and nitrogen, among other things.