Worldwide, we are faced with the basic need for energy, but in the poorer countries, this basic need is critical.  There are roughly 1.6 billion people in developing countries – 700 million of whom are in Africa.  Many of these people lack access to electricity.  Due to the fact that coal is often cheap and plentiful, and the need for electricity is so great, it goes without saying that coal plants shall continue to be built.

Since coal will continue be used, many countries are in the process of looking into operating cleaner coal plants. New technologies (e.g. carbon capture and storage) are still in the early stages of research and development.  It is crucial that developing countries have access to these new technologies when available, since that will allow the elimination of GHGs during energy production from coal.