APPEA's executive director, Barry Jones said the world faces a choice of fantasising or being realistic when it comes to ensuring that we have the technology to provide the nation with a sustainable energy future based on fossil fuel usage.

Jones said Australians faced a choice, either waste money, put our heads in the sand and fantasise about an energy future that delivers a reliable energy supply which is non fossil fuel, non nuclear, non large scale hydro and not in our back yard.

"Or, we can be realistic and recognise that the world is likely to be substantially dependent on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future and see if we can develop a technology that will deliver society sustainable fossil fuel usage."

Jones outlined the warning at the International Energy Agency's 'Zero Emissions Technologies (ZETS) Conference', held during the past week on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

"To my way of thinking, there is no choice," Jones told delegates.

"While Option 1 may be affordable by a spendthrift developed world, pursuing that choice condemns the greater part of the world to ongoing social and economic poverty," he said.

"Option 2 is the only one that provides a win/win option for all mankind, and everyone involved in development of near zero emissions technologies needs to be reaching out to the community to explain the logic of choosing this option.

Jones said that in addition to near zero emission fossil fuel technologies, a total technology package for a sustainable energy future would need to include advanced end use efficiency technologies, advanced renewable energy technologies and advanced nuclear technologies.

"However, while near zero emissions technologies are part of a suite of technology solutions to reducing greenhouse emissions, they will also be the capstone for the global effort," he said.

"This will occur because fossil fuel has clear supply reliability, sustainability and cost advantages over other aspects of a comprehensive package.

Jones said there was no doubt that the technology to deliver near zero emissions outcomes was possible, and there was no doubt that some of the storage options were close to being economically feasible.

"The big challenge is, however, not in the storage area. It is in relation to making economic pre or post combustion technologies for separating carbon from fossil fuel in electricity generation," he said.

Jones challenged all delegates to leave the conference with a firm determination to work cooperatively to deliver a global near zero emissions outcome as soon as possible.

"A sustainable energy future will not be costless. The question for all of society is what sort of a price premium are we prepared to pay to achieve sustainability?"

"This is not just a question for the private sector, as near zero emissions technologies deliver a legacy of public benefits that will continue generations into the future," he said.

"The key public policy issue is how governments ensure that both the minimisation of leakage risk and the significant legacy of public benefits from these new technologies are taken into account in the investment process."