Reviving the clean coal myth
- From: greenpeacephilippines@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: 19 Feb 2006 22:48:56 -0800
Greenpeace today condemned APEC's Clean Coal Conference which takes
place this week in the province of Lampang as a propaganda that serves
mainly the interest of the coal industry. The environment group said
that the industry should not mislead people into believing that "clean
coal" exists and called for a shift in energy policy towards clean
renewable energy.
"By hosting the APEC Clean Coal Conference, the Thai government and the
EGAT Plc. are indicating their intention to further the use of coal in
the country's energy strategy. The planned expansion of the Mae Moh
coal plant and construction of BLCP coal plant ignore people's
opposition to coal and the severe health and environmental impacts that
it causes. Thailand should stop the expansion of coal and shift to
clean renewable energy," said Tara Buakamsri of Greenpeace Southeast
Asia.
Supakit Nanthawaragan of Health System Research Institute added: "Our
country's alternative energy plan clearly indicates that there is no
need for the further use of coal which causes social, health and
environmental problems. By simply accomplishing the government's target
for renewable energy use, the country will be able to continue its
economic/industrial development, reduce dependence from outside
sources, increase employment and create a stable society."
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which includes the USA
and Australia, is a group of Pacific Rim countries who work to develop
economic and political ties (1). APEC countries collectively consumed
60% of the world's total energy and generated over 3.9 billion metric
tons of energy-related carbon emissions (61% of the world's total) in
2000.
APEC's Expert Group on Clean Fossil Energy (EGCFE) will hold its
"Technical and Policy Seminar on Clean Coal" in Lampang Province on
22-25 February 2006.
Ironically, Lampang is home to Mae Moh coal power plant, which has
caused deaths, severe health problems and dire environmental impacts.
________
1) APEC is not a UN body and has no treaty obligations required of its
participants. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and
commitments during the meetings are undertaken on a voluntary basis.
It's a very secretive body and its negotiations are neither transparent
to the public nor open to civil society organisations. Some of the
decisions made at APEC will lead to national law changes. For instance
many countries have made it illegal to have monopolies in the energy
market and countries are working towards ensuring that foreign
companies are allowed to establish themselves in that country.
visit: http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia
.
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