HONG KONG, Nov 26: Coal power stations will remain central to the world’s energy supply for the next 40 years, but they must slash emissions to avoid pushing up global temperatures, an environmental group said on Monday.

The plants could still provide 20 per cent of the world’s energy needs in 2050 with only a limited rise in temperatures if they used technology that could capture carbon dioxide, said Ina Pozon, co-ordinator of WWF International’s Asia Pacific Coal Initiative.

“Governments must get industry to prove the viability of clean coal technologies, otherwise social and environmental impacts of local pollution and global climate change will prohibit large scale use of coal,” Pozon said.

The WWF released two reports on Monday that examined whether there could be a reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions by 60 to 80pc, while still accepting that worldwide energy demand would double by 2050.—AFP