RI, China Seek Out Clean Coal Technology

Nusa Dua, Bali, March 20 (Antara) - In the "Indonesia-China Coal Summit" here from March 19-20, 2013, the two countries are expected to cooperate in creating a clean coal processing technology to make use of low-quality coal. Head of the Indonesian Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) Marzan A. Iskandar said here on Tuesday that the source of energy in the future would be dominated by coal. "But coal has a lot of problems that can contribute to environmental pollution, and therefore we need a variety of clean coal technology," Marzan said during the Indonesia-China Coal Summit. The summit is attended by around 300 participants from different perspectives of coal, energy, mineral resources related businessmen as well as regulators from Indonesia, China, South Korea, and Japan. According to Marzan, it is very important to create clean coal processing technology to reduce carbon emission which can contribute to health problem and global warming. "Our coal deposit in the future must not be exported but used to meet domestic need," he noted. But because 50 percent of coal is still geologically young with the lowest carbon content, Marzan said a new technology should be sought to increase its value.