Energy outlook 2040

Researchers at ExxonMobil forecast global energy demand at 30% higher than in 2010 due to a combination of factors such as increasing economic output, prosperity and population growth as well as maturing economies, and increasing efficiency, resulting in 60% demand growth within the non-OECD economies. Indian energy demand is forecast to more than double from 28 quadrillion BTUs in 2010 to 61 in 2040, about 9% of global demand.
In their annual energy outlook, "2012 The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040", they state that electricity generation would account for more than 40% of global energy consumption while demand for coal would peak and then decline gradually and demand for natural gas would rise by more than 60% and unconventional sources of oil and natural gas such as shale formations would form an increasing share of global supply.
They also state that efficiency gains through technologies such as hybrid vehicles and new, high- efficiency natural gas power plants would temper demand growth and curb emissions. and also predict that energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions would grow slowly, then level off around 2030.

Can coal be cleaned?

ANDREW DeWIT, Professor at Rikkyo University declares that claims of "clean coal" as a sustainable source of energy by the coal lobby were patently false stating that 'cleaning' coal would raise its unit cost comparable to that of wind and solar energy and would also raise environmental pollution and groundwater damage alongwith health issues for mine-workers. In an article for the Asia-Pacific Journal, "The Mirage of Clean Coal and the Technological Alternatives", he concludes that "clean coal" was inherently not a sustainable kind of energy economy and such claims were the desperate strategies of an industry whose time was now over.