Imogen OUTLAW

NewClimate Institute and the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE) submitted a response to a public consultation on the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero’s proposed set of voluntary guidance for financing the early retirement of coal-fired power plants in Asia-Pacific. This blog post highlights key points from our submission. Preventing the worst impacts of the climate crisis, particularly for the most vulnerable, requires halting coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) in the pipeline and retiring a substantial portion of the existing global coal fleet before the end of their technical lifetime. While countries have committed to phase out unabated coal in the Glasgow Climate Pact, 350 GW of new capacity is proposed globally with an additional 192 GW under construction. Coal-fired power generation is anticipated to increase in the coming years in Southeast Asia, China, and India. As coal becomes increasingly uncompetitive with renewable alternatives in many regions of the world, existing and future investments are at high risk of stranding. Considering the situation, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) network of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), an initiative of private sector financial institutions working on climate, founded in 2021, has sought feedback on guidance on how financial institutions can and should engage in the managed phaseout of coal-fired power plants.