Rethinking coal phase-out in Asia and beyond

COAL-FIRED power plants have long been the backbone of energy supply systems in many Asian countries. But as the world races to tackle climate change, a key challenge persists. While no one debates that coal must be phased out, the pathway for retiring it without undermining energy security and economic stability remains unresolved.

In 2022, I first encountered coal transition initiatives such as the Asian Development Bank’s Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). Having “phased in” many coal plants during my career in project finance, the concept of a structured coal phase-out struck me, then, as elegant and promising.

It reminded me of a major restructuring project in the early 2000s in Indonesia – the Paiton Energy (Paiton) coal plant – where I acted as the sole debt restructuring adviser.