2010 UNSW / Mitsubishi Lecture

School of Mining Engineering

Thursday 13th May, 2010

John Niland Scientia Building, University of New South Wales

The Future for Coal

To be delivered by:
Dr Don Elder
Chairman, World Coal Institute and Chief Executive Officer, Solid Energy New Zealand
Lecture (no charge): 5:30pm to 7:00pm – Ritchie Theatre, John Niland Scientia Building
Cocktails ($30): 7:00pm to 8:30pm – Pavilions, Matthews Building

The Lecture
Six generations have elapsed since the industrial revolution.
Global GDP/capita has increased twenty-fold. Cheap, abundant
energy from coal, oil and gas has enabled one sixth of the world’s
population – those of us in the OECD – to enjoy a standard of
living unimaginable in the previous two hundred generations. Yet
three quarters of the world still has a GDP/capita less than quarter
the OECD average. Thirty percent live in poverty and twenty
percent have no electricity. The UNDP Millennium Development
Goals look no closer than they did over a decade ago.
Most of the developing world now target the standard of living
we enjoy today. If current trends continue, within one further
generation global GDP will increase by as much again as it did in
the past 200 generations. This may not be possible. It requires
global supply of most resources, and food, to nearly double, when
these are becoming increasingly constrained. The period of human
history with never-ending economic growth fuelled by cheap fossil
fuels is over. Affordable oil then gas may have less than one more
generation. Coal, with much greater resources, has a key role to
play in a transition to a world running on other energy sources.
Yet many would prefer to see coal the first fossil fuel to disappear.
Although countries rich in resources per capita, like Australia and
New Zealand, have an opportunity – unique in history – to meet
these global needs we are already seeing the massive tensions it
creates. How we manage this defines our new global responsibility.
Background
Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd is a major stakeholder in surface
coal mining operations in Australia through its associations with
BHP Billiton in Qld, and Xstrata and Rio Tinto in NSW. The company
is supporting minerals tertiary education at UNSW through a range
of initiatives that include undergraduate scholarships and an annual
public lecture on a topical aspect of mining.

For further information and accommodation advice, please contact:

Carol Bell Emeritus Professor Jim Galvin
Tel: (02) 9385 4515 Fax: (02) 9313 7269 Tel: 0417 710 476 Fax: (02) 9144 4199
Email: C.Bell@unsw.edu.au Email: Jim.Galvin@Galvin.net.au

RSVP – Cocktail function: Friday 7th May, 2010 by – Fax: 02 9313 7269 or Email: c.bell@unsw.edu.au
I/We will attend the cocktail function (finger food and drinks) following the lecture

Name(s):______________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone:___________________________ Fax:_____________________________ Email:________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Enclosed is $ ………… as payment for the cocktail function ($30/person)

Please make cheques payable to the School of Mining Engineering, UNSW and post to:
School of Mining Engineering, University of New South Wales, UNSW NSW 2052