that coal will be entirely removed from its energy mix by 2030, following which 90 per cent of the country’s electricity will be generated from sustainable sources. Announcing the decision at the time, then Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said: “It sends a clear signal to the world that Canada is a great place to invest in clean energy.”
However, now it has become unclear if this intended signal by the Western nations has in fact been delivered to the other corner of the world, as it has now been revealed that five Asian countries intend to jeopardise global climate ambitions by planning to invest in 80 per cent of the world’s new coal plants.
According to a report issued by financial think tank Carbon Tracker, despite renewable energy being cheaper than most new coal plants, some of the top emitters in Asia, namely China, India, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam have launched plans to build more than 600 coal power units. “These last bastions of coal power are swimming against the tide, when renewables offer a cheaper solution that supports global climate targets,” Catharina Hillenbrand von der Neyen, the author of the report, said. “Investors should steer clear of new coal projects, many of which are likely to generate negative returns from the outset,” she warned.
Nevertheless, China, the world’s leading coal investor, plans to expand its fleet of coal-fired power plants by another 187 gigawatts from the current level of 1,100-gigawatt the report said. Meanwhile, renewable energy is expected to outcompete coal-fired power by 2024, not only in China, but also in India and Indonesia, while in Japan and Vietnam, by next year, the harmful power generator will be uneconomic in comparison to renewables.
