Coal-Based Thermal in Southeast Asian Countries

January 07, 2021

ASEAN—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—has emerged as the most important region for future growth in coal-fired power generation as both China and India are investing in renewable power and moving away from coal. 

This growth is a little iffy, as installation of new coal
power capacity faces stiff resistance from environmentalists and the hoi polloi alike. But in a business-as-usual scenario, it will lead to a tremendous increase in pollution. Especially since the emission standards of important parameters are quite lax in most of these countries.

Can ASEAN chart a new energy future that combines cleaner coal power and better regulation and monitoring with synergetic phasing-in of renewable energy? This scoping paper mulls over these questions.