New coal power investment in Asian developing economies is rapidly decreasing as governments implement clean energy policies and pressure from environmentalists increases, the website of the Financial Times on December 24.
According to the report, only 25 GW new coal power projects in 2021 are still in the planning stage before construction, according to the policy changes promoted by the energy sectors and politicians in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh.
According to the report of the Global Energy Monitoring Organization, this is 80% lower than the 125 GW planned five years ago.
India has also significantly reduced coal power projects, from 238 GW planned in 2015 to 30 GW.
The Financial Times reporter saw that the new report of the Global Energy Monitoring Organization said: “Taken together, this is a major blow to the coal industry in Asia.”
According to the report, important policy changes to promote change include Vietnam’s new energy plan expected to be launched early next year. The program aims to help Vietnam transition from foreign-funded coal power to liquefied natural gas and renewable energy.
Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing developing economies in Asia. In Bangladesh, the policy of abandoning all future coal-fired power plants is awaiting the approval of the Prime Minister.
Although these initiatives are more promising for the long-term transition from fossil fuel abandonment in the region, there are signs that coal use is increasing in the short term.
The report also said that the price of power coal for power generation has risen sharply in recent months due to strong demand in China, India, South Korea and Japan.
The International Energy Agency predicted this month that global coal demand would increase in 2021 as rising fossil fuel use in parts of Asia offset the decline in coal use in other parts of the world.
However, analysts of the Global Energy Monitoring Organization pointed out that it is increasingly difficult to attract investment for the remaining coal projects.
Since 2015, nearly half of the $52 billion in coal and electricity funds in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bangladesh has come from traditional lenders such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
However, as pressure from international environmental activists and foreign investors increases, public and private institutions in Japan, South Korea and Singapore are slowly cutting off links with carbon-intensive electricity and mining projects.
