It’s a well known fact, the production of electricity via traditional coal and natural gas burning plants and in a lesser way nuclear reactors is vastly inefficient. But this might change soon thanks to scientific research. To Ecogeek :
” Researchers (…) are developing a new gas turbine to increase the efficiency of conventional electrical power plants with a generation system that could increase the thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency by 40 to 50 percent.“
Imagine a world where these turbines would be the implemented everywhere : emissions would drop very quickly. For more, read the official press release from Sandia National Laboratories.