Speaking at the International Energy Agency's Zero Emissions Technology Conference, Macfarlane warned the industry to make the most of Australia's clean coal strategy, COAL 21, while greenhouse strategies were still voluntary.
"We, the industry and government, are not embarrassed by Australia's abundance of fossil fuels," he told the Gold Coast audience. "But that in turn places an obligation on us to lead international efforts in the research, development and adoption of zero emission, coal-based technologies."
"Fossil fuels underpin more than our way of life, they're major contributors to our economic well-being. So it's a matter of getting smarter about how these fuels are produced because the reality is fossil fuels, for as long as they're available, will always be used first to meet the world's growing energy demand.
"At present we can make an arguably greater contribution to emission reduction by improving the use of, and technology behind, fossil fuels. Equally the development of renewable energies will, and must, complement this technology," he said.
Clean coal technologies now being tested and researched in Australia include ultra clean coal, integrated gasification combined cycle, oxy-fuel combustion, drying of brown coal, coal bed methane and geological sequestration.
"Unfortunately, few people outside Newcastle would know there's an ultra clean coal pilot plant returning emission levels of less than 1% per tonne of coal. There needs to be far greater public awareness of what attempts and advances this industry is making. COAL 21 has the potential to be an international benchmark," he said.
"Perceptions of the energy sector are big, black and ugly. No amount of money you put into sporting and cultural sponsorship, whilst worthy, is likely to change that.
"What will change opinions and attitudes is knowledge of the work the industry is putting into new, cleaner technologies, knowledge that the energy sector voluntarily accepts responsibility for pursuing a cleaner fuel future," Macfarlane said.
To promote more global collaboration on zero emission technologies Macfarlane launched the “Australian technology roadmap”. The roadmap sets out a definitive program for seeing the Australian deployment of new zero emission technologies within 15 years and evolution to a hydrogen economy within 30 years.
