John Anderson: Conversations Why The World Still Needs Coal | Michelle Manook
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Dec 5, 2025 Michelle Manook, Chief Executive of FutureCoal, dives into the complexities of Australia's energy landscape. She challenges misconceptions about coal, arguing for its role in a mixed energy future alongside game-changing technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and High Efficiency Low Emission (HELE) power plants. Manook emphasizes the economic stakes of coal exports, the need for energy reliability, and the importance of practical solutions over ideology. Their discussion highlights coal's versatility beyond combustion, supporting its necessity in a resilient energy strategy.
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Energy IQ Beats Ideology
- Australia suffers from a low energy IQ and has conflated ideology with practical energy policy.
- Michelle Manook argues policy must prioritise affordability, reliability and security over simplistic renewables-only narratives.
Coal Can Be Cleaned At Scale
- Known technologies can abate up to 99% of coal pollutants and reduce emissions significantly.
- Michelle notes China and Japan are demonstrating HELE and CCS applications that reshape coal's emissions profile.
Bank Sustainability Meeting Reveals Ignorance
- Michelle recounts meeting a bank's head of sustainability who promoted a 'no coal' policy without understanding its scope.
- She warned that exclusionary 'no coal' rules would shut down industries using coal for steel, cement, fertilisers and chemicals.