Southeast Asia’s need for coal is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, undermining progress on cutting carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. Southeast Asia makes up a quarter of growth in global energy demand.
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Here's what to knowSome people tape their mouths shut at night. Doctors wish they wouldn'tUS ice cream makers say they'll stop using artificial dyes by 2028One Tech Tip: Annoyed by junk calls to your iPhone? Try the new iOS 26 call screen featureLetter writing enjoys a revival as fans seek connection and a break from screen timeMarine Le Pen admite"error" en juicio por malversaciónTrump backs off tariffs over Greenland after NATO security talks Here's what to knowSome people tape their mouths shut at night. Doctors wish they wouldn'tUS ice cream makers say they'll stop using artificial dyes by 2028One Tech Tip: Annoyed by junk calls to your iPhone? Try the new iOS 26 call screen featureLetter writing enjoys a revival as fans seek connection and a break from screen timeMarine Le Pen admite"error" en juicio por malversaciónA dump truck carrying coal navigates its way near a coal mining pit in Sanga-Sanga, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Dec. 20, 2022. Women sit on a hill overlooking the Suralaya coal power plant in Cilegon, Indonesia, Jan. 8, 2023. FILE- Boats cruise near barges fully loaded with coal on the Mahakam river in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, on Dec. 19, 2022. FILE -Cao Ngan Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates on, Jan. 28, 2025, in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. FILE -Cao Ngan Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates on Jan. 28, 2025, in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. A dump truck carrying coal navigates its way near a coal mining pit in Sanga-Sanga, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Dec. 20, 2022. A dump truck carrying coal navigates its way near a coal mining pit in Sanga-Sanga, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, Dec. 20, 2022. Women sit on a hill overlooking the Suralaya coal power plant in Cilegon, Indonesia, Jan. 8, 2023. Women sit on a hill overlooking the Suralaya coal power plant in Cilegon, Indonesia, Jan. 8, 2023. FILE- Boats cruise near barges fully loaded with coal on the Mahakam river in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, on Dec. 19, 2022. FILE- Boats cruise near barges fully loaded with coal on the Mahakam river in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, on Dec. 19, 2022. FILE -Cao Ngan Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates on, Jan. 28, 2025, in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. FILE -Cao Ngan Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates on, Jan. 28, 2025, in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. FILE -Cao Ngan Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates on Jan. 28, 2025, in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. FILE -Cao Ngan Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates on Jan. 28, 2025, in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam. HANOI, Vietnam — Southeast Asia’s demand for coal is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, undermining efforts to lower carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. Regional coal demand will rise by more than 4% a year through the end of the decade, driven by rising needs for electricity as economies grow across the region of more than 600 million, according to a recentreport. Indonesia, a nation of about 285 million people, will account for more than half of that, followed by Vietnam.both countries signed in 2022 in Just Energy Transition Partnerships, or JETP, to help fund their renewable energy transitions. Moves under U.S. President Donald Trump to reverse policies meant to This is a decisive decade for Southeast Asia as the region bears much of the burden of extreme weather and other impacts from “We’re standing on two opposite grounds — wanting to build clean energy, but not letting go entirely of coal,” said Katherine Hasan, an analyst with the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a Finland-registered think tank. Coal emits more planet heating emissions than other fossil fuels like oil and gas when it is burned. Pollution from coal also adds toCoal supplies just over a third of Southeast Asia’s electricity, the IEA says, making it the third-largest coal-consuming region in the world after But Southeast Asia is headed in the opposite direction. The two main factors driving that trend are cost and energy security. “Nobody burns coal for fun,” said Paul Baruya of FutureCoal, a group backed by the fossil fuel industry, formerly known as the World Coal Association. “Coal still underpins a level of energy security that the region needs,” he said, noting that coal cutbacks would mean writing off billions of dollars’ worth of fossil fuel-related infrastructure including power plants and mines. A recent regional survey by Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute found a growing public preference for delaying giving up coal until 2030 or even 2040, as concerns over adequate power supplies and costs counter worries about climate change.“What is important is that our government is firm in its stance that there will be no phase-out of fossil fuels,” said Hashim Djojohadikusumo, brother to“We’ve rejected that; we’re sticking with a phase-down,” he said. “Indonesia’s economy, especially its industry and electricity sector, will continue to rely on fossil fuels.” “If Indonesia cannot transition away from coal, then why would other developing countries?” said Dinita Setyawati, with the United Kingdom-registered think tank Ember. “For Indonesia, it’s not so much a fear of the unknown, but a reluctance to change and the inertia of change.” A years-long effort to retire a coal plant in West Java fell through last month, highlighting Indonesia’s struggle to move beyond coal.by 2040, was rated “critically insufficient” by Climate Action Tracker, which said the country’s aims don’t align with theVietnam reaches energy crossroads Vietnam has stood out in fossil fuel-dependent Southeast Asia, expanding its solar generating capacity from 4 megawatts in 2015 to 16 gigawatts a decade later. It has plans to grow that to as much as 73.4 gigawatts by 2030 and up to 295 gigawatts by 2050.Vietnam hit a record-high in 2025 with the import of more than 65 million metric tonnes of coal, which was up 2.6% by volume from a year earlier, according to the latest data from Vietnam’s customs department.of around 10% a year through 2030, Vietnam aims to increase electricity sales to the point that they are equivalent to Germany’s current annual energy consumption.from Vietnamese wind and solar power producers to meet their climate targets. This could potentially double Vietnam’s renewable energy share from about 19% to 42%, Ember says. However, Vietnam’s power grid is already under strain from the rapid, uneven rollout of renewables and years of underinvestment in transmission equipment. The government estimates it needs about $18 billion by 2030 to upgrade the system. But progress has been slow, and funding committed so far covers only a fraction of the need.The momentum for JETP-backed projects in Indonesia and Vietnam is unlikely to pick up this year, according to Putra Adhiguna, with the Jakarta-based think tank, the Energy Shift Institute.Expectations for the billion-dollar JETP deals were set too high, Adhiguna said. “JETP was basically a brute force attempt to do a transition,” he said. “Governments were trying to bulldoze through ... But fundamentally there are things that take a bit of time and political commitment to happen.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’sGhosal covers the intersection of business and climate change in southeast Asia for The Associated Press. He is based out of Hanoi in Vietnam.
Energy Industry Indonesia Vietnam Asia Climate Change General News Asia Pacific Send To Apple News Business Hashim Djojohadikusumo Indonesia Government Paul Baruya Vietnam Government Climate And Environment Katherine Hasan World News Prabowo Subianto Politics Climate World News
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