Clean coal technologies and possible emission trading regimes in the Asia-Pacific region

After reviewing clean coal technologies currently under study in the United States, Australia, and Japan, under the current climate of global warming concerns, one concludes that some of these technologies might well be commercialised soon, especially if some kind of 'emission trading' regime is encouraged after the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environmental and Development (UNCED, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 1992). Some alternative financing possibilities under various emission trading regimes are studied for a 'sample' technology to illustrate the issues involved in clean-coal technology penetration. It is concluded that a financial 'carbon saving credit' alone might prove sufficient to stimulate such penetration. (author)