By
Vietnam News Agency
Tuesday, July 2, 2024 | 11:08 PM GMT+7
Indonesia and the Philippines are leading the rise in coal dependence in Southeast Asia, and their dependence will continue to grow rapidly in 2023.
A heavy machine unloads coal from barges into trucks at Karya Citra Nusantara port in North Jakarta, Indonesia, January 13, 2022. Photo courtesy of Reuters.
Data recently released by energy consultancy Ember shows that last year the Philippines surpassed Poland, China and Indonesia in terms of the percentage of coal in its energy mix, becoming the most coal-dependent country in the region.
The percentage of electricity generated from coal in the Philippines has surpassed that of Poland, China and even Indonesia in 2023. The country has seen a significant increase of 2.9% in its annual coal production rate, from 59.1% in 2022 to 61.9% in 2023.
Meanwhile, that percentage in Indonesia increased slightly to a new record of 61.8%, surpassing Poland in 2023 after already surpassing China in 2022.
According to Ember, these figures highlight the challenges facing the two Southeast Asian nations in meeting their green energy goals. The Philippines’ share of coal in electricity generation increased for the 15th consecutive year in 2023, despite its goal of reducing reliance on the fuel to less than half of its total electricity generation by 2030.
Ember said Indonesia and the Philippines lag behind other ASEAN countries in developing wind and solar power. These countries are struggling to improve their renewable energy capacity due to the associated costs.
