Juan José Mitjans, executive director of the Argentine Committee of the World Energy Council, spoke with EL PILÓN during the Congress of the Colombian Natural Gas Association (Naturgas), in the city of Barranquilla, about betting on other uses of coal, beyond power generation.
“We have to prevent coal from being used to burn it, since there are other much greener substitutes. If we can use coal for other purposes, let’s do it, because there are regions whose economies depend on mining”, Means expression.
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Although Colombia produces its electricity mainly through hydroelectric plants, it exports thermal coal produced in Cesar and La Guajira to countries that depend on this fuel to generate electricity.
ARE WE DECEIVING?
Thus, the executive considers that “we are fooling ourselves”because the local economy “it is going well”but “That coal pollutes the environment elsewhere.”
The substitute for coal would be gas, which reduces between 45 and 50 percent of polluting emissions, at least locally, according to the counselor.
“Natural gas is the perfect fuel to make the energy transition. You have to achieve the balance, although it is difficult, but you have to try to achieve it ”, punctuation Means.