Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain are duking it out over who will pump more government money into controversial plans to control greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Officials from both campaigns promise that their candidate backs “clean coal,” will protect coal-mining jobs and ensure a priority spot for coal in the nation’s energy future.

But both provide few details for their plans, and have not explained how they would overcome a long history of hurdles that have hampered the government’s clean-coal program for decades.

The simmering issue boiled over a bit Tuesday, a week after McCain caught the coal industry by surprise when he came out against mountaintop removal coal mining.

McCain’s campaign sponsored a conference call with coalfield journalists to call attention to what it said were anti-coal comments by Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden.

The National Mining Association also pounced, criticizing Biden for “dismissing the vital role of clean-coal technology in meeting America’s energy needs.”

Carolyn Auwaerter, an activist with the group 1Sky, started this week’s flurry of attacks when she confronted Biden about coal issues during a campaign appearance outside Toledo, Ohio.

“We’re not supporting ‘clean coal,’” Biden told Auwaerter, according to video posted by Wonk Room, a blog sponsored by the liberal Center for American Progress.

“But guess what? China is burning 300 years of bad coal unless we figure out how to clean their coal up,” Biden continued. “Because it’s going to ruin your lungs and there’s nothing we can do about it.

“No coal plants here in America,” Biden said. “Build them, if they’re going to build them over there, make [them] clean because they’re killing you.”

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., harshly criticized Biden’s comments during the McCain campaign’s conference call.

“It was a very unscripted moment, but this is where you’re speaking the truth, and your true feelings are coming out,” Capito said. “To me, that’s American jobs and West Virginia jobs. It’s not realistic and it doesn’t make sense.”

David Wade, a spokesman for Obama, responded that such remarks are “yet another false attack from a dishonorable campaign.”

“Senator Biden’s point is that China is building coal plants with outdated technology every day, and the United States needs to lead by developing clean coal technologies,” Wade said in an e-mail response to questions.

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