I believe in a country’s right to use its natural resources for socioeconomic benefit. I believe a country can achieve this and be environmentally responsible. These are not mutually exclusive tendencies.
When people ask why resource-rich African nations are being left behind, the reasons are complex.
When it comes to coal, I see a large part of the answer.
In China and India, the two largest coal-based and growth economies, there exists a mindset focused on “resilience through self-reliance”.
These nations are simply not distracted by righteous arguments or conditional offers.
So, the question that African coal-based economies must ask is: “How do we achieve self-reliance?”
Let me set out how it will not be achieved.
It will not be achieved by shutting down coal plants prematurely without ensuring a reliable baseload is in its place; nor starving coal operations of essential (affordable) funding to maintain system integrity and improve environmental performance. This naïve “solution” fails to ensure diverse energy systems, which are necessary insurance for energy security.
Equally, there is no self-reliance if a lack of understanding prevails of the many allied industries that rely on coal and its by-products
It will not be achieved through implementing 100% intermittent renewable energy systems or accepting conditional funding for this pathway — a disingenuous “solution” that does not prioritise energy reliability, exacerbating vulnerabilities.
It will not be achieved without deploying efficient processes and technologies that exist today, capable of abating up to 99% of coal combustion emissions, including CO2. Nor will it be achieved if we do not tap into the vast knowledge and expertise nurtured in South Africa’s tertiary institutions.
Equally, there is no self-reliance if a lack of understanding prevails of the many allied industries that rely on coal and its by-products, including the enormous potential to transform coal beyond combustion. Remember, this is not just an energy source for electricity, it is also the building block for infrastructure through steel and cement, a fertiliser for food, a precursor to hydrogen production from gasification, a source of many heavy metals and critical minerals crucial to the clean energy transition, and so much more.
How can Africa take the first step to self-reliance?
The answer lies in “FutureCoal.”
There exists a growing global alliance of progressive leaders who view coal as a global ecosystem. They aim to educate, capitalise and unite under the concept of “self-reliance”, embodied in what we term sustainable coal stewardship (SCS). This model outlines numerous commercial opportunities across the value chain, enabling investors to extract more value per tonne of coal. By “value” we speak to both economic and environmental concerns.
In China and India, the SCS blueprint is well advanced and, most importantly, supported by clear government policy, providing investment certainty.
For India, the government recently announced more than $1bn (R18.6bn) in two coal gasification investments, aiming for atmanirbhar (self-reliance) in coal-derived products, including synthetic natural gas for power generation, heating, and chemical production.
China also prioritises self-reliance in coal investments. Notably, substantial investments in coal abatement technologies have been made, with the People’s Bank of China establishing a ¥200bn (R525bn) “special reloan for clean and efficient utilisation of coal” in late 2021 and an additional ¥100bn quota in May 2022, specifically supporting coal mining, coal utilisation and reserve capacity.
China leads beyond combustion projects globally, with the world’s largest coal-to-hydrogen projects (350,000t produced annually) and the largest coal-based ethanol plant (600,000t a year).
Today, nontraditional funding interests have spiked, increasingly looking to our SCS model to guide them to strategic and responsible coal assets. They are informed by the developments in the Global North, where assumptions about the energy transition are urgently being re-evaluated by many traditional funding sources that regard (maybe now “regarded”) coal as a stranded asset.
The nontraditional funding sources also understand that “abated” coal has a much broader and sophisticated definition than is typically acknowledged by the Global North, often referring only to carbon capture. These simple steps, such as making efficiency gains, are critical to achieving those first emissions reductions as well as a pathway towards carbon neutrality.
I will participate at the Mining Indaba on two important panels: “The just transition and coal: is coal holding Africa back?” and “Finding the balance for an energy-secure world through coal”. Given the precarious global energy backdrop, I expect there will be more reflection on self-reliance.
If the FutureCoal transformation continues its momentum, embraced by a transformative and cohesive global coal value chain, including governments and investors, all with the genuine intention to improve lives, livelihoods and the environment, then no-one will be left behind.
• Manook is CEO of FutureCoal
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.