The future for coal is in the developing world. Used properly, it could power social, economic and environmental advance, by Ron Knapp.

Today, one-third of the world's population does not have access to commercial energy - the majority of these people live in the developing world. For many, coal will provide the most viable indigenous energy source for the future and early access to an improved standard of living.

Coal currently contributes around 26 per cent of the total global primary energy demand, a key input for the steel and cement industries (over 500m tonnes of coal is used annually by the global steel industry alone) and a competitive fuel generating 37 per cent of world electricity. The total electricity figure camouflages big variations from country to country: in Japan, coal's share is around 15 per cent, in the US it is around 56 per cent and in China, India, Poland and South Africa it is over 75 per cent. EU member countries obtain around 27 per cent of their electricity from coal.

Like the other fossil fuels, coal is required to improve its environmental credentials across its full life cycle. There is a growing political demand to address environmental issues and coal will come under increasing "environmental" pressure in respect of SOx, NOx, carbon dioxide and particulate discharge. Innovation and technology have delivered solutions to these issues. The coal industry has and will continue to respond to these challenges.

Coal is as clean as the country of consumption can afford it to be - invariably at a level linked to the level of national development and living standards. Coal combustion efficiency, like any other environmental improvement, is "consumed" at the rate linked to this national level of development - a real working example or demonstration of sustainable development and measure of living standards.

Future demand for coal will be dominated by the Asian region and this is where the greatest efficiency gains can be made - the net plant efficiency of coal-fired power generation in non-OECD countries is as much as 10 per cent lower than the 36 per cent average in the OECD and even further adrift from the 45 per cent further efficiency that is being achieved with advanced technologies.

Boosting coal combustion efficiency from 30 per cent to 40 per cent results in a CO2 reduction of 25 per cent per unit of energy produced. Average global efficiency of coal utilisation is struggling to reach 25 per cent. State of the art plants are operating at above 40 per cent efficiency and further improvements are being developed.

Improving the combustion efficiency of 10 per cent of China's current coal consumption (120m tonnes) from 25 per cent to 35 per cent would reduce emissions of CO2 by 47.5m tonnes for the same energy output equivalent to over two-thirds of the Netherlands' total 1998 CO2 emissions from all sources.

We must deliver the improved combustion and environmental performances already available in the market in Japan, the US and other OECD countries to the broader global community as quickly as possible - this will require governments, institutions and industry to work together to produce and replicate the success stories.

Removal of institutional barriers and the introduction of incentives to support the early transfer and take-up of clean coal technology worldwide would be the most appropriate way to deal with many of the perceived issues surrounding the continued use of coal in developing countries.

Technology can and will deliver solutions - the US Vision 21 Project is encouraging, as is the European "technology tomorrow" project. Both these programmes have the objective of researching the next generation technology to deliver efficiency in the order of 55 per cent, resulting in further emission reductions.

Advanced technologies for the conversion of coal into energy in the form of hydrogen for use as an electricity or transport energy source are also being pursued, with the advantage of easier capture and sequestering of carbon by-products.

Technology and innovation will secure coal's future as a key supplier of the world's energy needs for the new millennium.

Coal is stable and is the safest fossil fuel to transport, store and use. The potentially disastrous impact of an accident at a nuclear power plant, an oil spillage from a tanker at sea or a gas plant explosion does not have a parallel with coal.

Abundant reserves guarantee security of supply at competitive prices - hence electricity supply for industrial and domestic use is assured. It is interesting to compare the stability of the global coal market with that of oil - the last six months has seen the spot price of oil double.

It is not the use of coal, but how the coal is used, that must be the focus for action.

Shifting people away from relying on coal burnt in open fires as their sole means of cooking and providing heating is essential for dealing with significant human health issues resulting from these existing domestic coal use practices.

Programmes of support or assistance to developing countries should reflect the importance of an integrated sustainable development approach which lists performance on all three branches: social, economic and environmental. If countries pursue the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could assist the transfer of technology and enhance development.

Playing to a country's natural attributes - often coal reserves - provides the best opportunity for social economic and environmental improvements.

Ron Knapp is chief executive of the World Coal Institute