the technology for using coal to produce electricity is very well developed and its relatively low cost has made it especially attractive to developing nations like china and india as a source of electric power according to the united states department of energy global coal use will rise by per cent between and an increase greater than for any other major source of energy however when used in a conventional manner coal releases more co into the atmosphere per unit of energy produced than the other two fossil fuels so an increase in coal use of this magnitude will result in a significant worldwide increase in c emissions undermining global efforts to slow the rate of climate change because nuclear energy releases no c emissions some energy experts see it as an attractive alternative to fossil fuels