Global Financial Woes Slow Construction of New Coal Plants in Asia

BANGKOK, THAILAND, November 14, 2008: The global financial crisis is good news and bad news for the environment.

The good news is that the world economic slowdown is expected to force Asian countries to put on hold some plans to construct coal-fired power plants – which means a lot less carbon dioxide emissions to cause air pollution and climate change.

“It’s likely Asian countries may not build as many power plants as they have planned because of the expected lower demand for power,” said Pradeep Tharakan, of the International Resources Group and Deputy Chief of Party of the ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program, at the Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2008 workshop in Bangkok.

The bad news is that, because of belt-tightening, instead of building new power plants, “some countries are likely to continue running old power plants that might otherwise be shut down,” he said.

Abundant and cheap -- but dirty -- coal is used increasingly by the power sector in developing Asia to meet increasing energy demand. The adverse impact on air quality is exacerbated by low efficiency levels of many existing coal power plants, which results in more carbon dioxide emissions.

A study commissioned by the USAID ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program in 2007 projects that, by 2030, power demand in Asia will increase fourfold, resulting in an additional 13 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide being released to the atmosphere every year.

Peter du Pont, also of the International Resources Group and Chief of Party of the ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program, said the global financial crisis will slow the construction of new plants in the short term, but it remains unclear how long and deep the global financial crisis will be. The appetite for building new plants will return
when the world economy picks up.

Mr. du Pont says governments need to think of the long term and put in place regulations governing the efficiency of new power plants as well as limits on pollutant emission levels.

Countries in Asia are at different stages of developing cleaner coal technologies and practices. While coal is inherently dirty, technologies can significantly increase plant efficiency and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

Regional coordination to establish minimum efficiency standards and emissions guidelines should be encouraged.

“The reality is that coal plants will continue to be built in Asia, and it is important to make the plants as efficient as possible,” says Mr. du Pont. “The widespread adoption of cleaner coal technologies and practices is essential as a bridge strategy while countries gradually move to cleaner forms of energy, including renewable energy, and more efficient uses of energy.”

Media enquiries:
Carmela Fonbuena, media@cai-asia.org