Mapping Coal Phaseouts in Key Asian Markets

Asia, the world’s largest continent, is home to the biggest fleet of coal plants, burning the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel.

China, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia, housing more than a quarter of the global population, have all increased coal power capacity since 2020. Their additions account for 57 percent of the world’s 2024 coal-fired capacity of 2,143 gigawatts (GW). China alone, for example, is adding 95GW capacity – equaling almost half of the European Union’s total coal fleet and 55 percent of the United States’.

Despite capacity addition, the utilization hours of the coal plants have fallen across all four Asian countries, highlighting the potential to shut down inefficient plants. At the same time, each country has increased its share of energy generated from renewables. The new plants could run for fewer hours, and rapid renewable energy buildouts could be prioritized. Solar and wind, in particular, are cheap and quickly deployable energy sources.

Given each country’s diverse economic structures and energy policies, scaling finance and managing risks for coal phaseouts means negotiating different priorities and pathways. The rapid buildout of renewables in these countries will further erode the share of coal generation in the power mix.

Changes in Fossil and Renewable Energy 2020-23/24

Coal has remained a stubborn component in each country’s national energy supply. China and Indonesia remain the most coal-dominant, with over half of all energy sourced from the fuel. Japan and South Korea rely mainly on imported fossil fuels, doing little to reduce coal reliance. Coal use has remained unchanged and is at the core of the generation mix in both countries. The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) varies due to its fluctuating high cost; however, it has remained relatively unaffected.

Despite pledges to decarbonize in all four countries, coal-fired capacity has increased (Table 1).