Q+A: Coal’s not going anywhere. So what do we do about it?

Welcome to Fear and Greed Q&A, where we ask and answer questions about business, investing, economics, politics, and more. I'm Sean Aylmer. The conflict in the Middle East has put energy security firmly back on the agenda. Disruptions to global energy supplies have pushed prices higher and increased demand for alternatives, including coal. It comes at a fascinating point in the energy transition. Renewable capacity continues to grow, but the world still consumes enormous amounts of coal. So is coal enjoying a temporary reprieve or have predictions of its decline underestimated? How long the world will need it? Michelle Manouk is CEO of Future Coal, formerly the World Coal Association. Michelle, welcome to Fear and Greed Q&A. Thanks, Sean. Thanks for having me. I read what you said at the National Press Club in Canberra a few weeks back. And my first question to you is, does coal have a PR problem?

I think it's a fair question. I think we've definitely not done well with our PR, but what we really haven't done well is educating people on what coal is and what it can do and how integral it is to our everyday life and everyday industries like electricity, like steel, like chemicals, infrastructure, and where we actually are in terms of technology and innovation for coal in terms of also qualifying it to be part of any kind of clean energy format so I think that's been a big part of our failing as an industry but not just an industry as a coal value chain because just as I explained before it is much more complicated than just coal electricity it is just so integral to everything we do.

So when we talk about clean energy and coal, how does that sit? We all think, I suppose, about different types of coal, metallurgical coal, thermal coal, that type of thing. And in a sense, the... The general view is that coal is a bad, right? But in a transitioning world, and none of us are arguing that we aren't transitioning, where does coal fit? How can it be cleaner than what it is now? And where do we end up with coal?

Well, I probably would argue about transitioning energy because we really don't have a direct replacement for, you know, good baseload, reliable, affordable energies that exist around the world, whether that be coal, whether that be gas, whether that be nuclear. So I think I've always been one and certainly supported by our members not to really dig into energy transition but to really talk about energy diversity and energy addition. And that doesn't mean there's not a place for renewables, but we know, as has been the IPCC guidance, that there's no 100% credible renewable scenario. And so this idea that we're talking about an energy transition is away from something that is reliable, affordable, and provides the kind of energy security that's necessary is quite irresponsible. So I think we've got to really focus on creating an energy system that is all around those factors that are so critical to how we actually live, operate, and become productive, you know, as a general economy and beyond. And in terms of clean energies and, you know, that in itself is a loaded question, isn't it? Because you've got to really look at the entire life cycle of