This was the message from federal resources minister Ian Macfarlane earlier this month at the Gippsland Energy summit in Victoria where he was discussing the new COAL21 National Action Plan for lowering green house emissions in the coal industry.

With the coal industry responsible for producing more than 80% of Australia's energy Macfarlane said the country would remain reliant on fossil fuels for the bulk of its expanding power requirements.

"Renewable energies are unlikely to emerge as the silver bullet to the greenhouse challenge," he said.

"So there will have to be a clever mix of the new and the old, with cleaner technologies for the coal industry in particular."

The Australian Government has pledged $500,000 for COAL21 research in an attempt to develop breakthrough technologies involving the capture and geological storage of carbon dioxide, during which the economic and technical viabilities of these technologies would be investigated.

"COAL21 is a perfect opportunity for Latrobe Valley generators to get involved with the planning for the future of their industry and the decisions that will have an impact on Australia's future standard of living," Macfarlane said.

"The long-term future of brown coal mining in the Latrobe Valley is also a subject of a study which will consider the interplay between future mining infrastructure, the community and the environment.

"The Latrobe Valley is an important contributor to the economic health of Victoria and Australia."

Australia's Miining Monthly