Prudential PLC (LSE:PRU), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) and BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Real Assets are among a group of financial companies looking at ways to accelerate the closure of coal-fired power plants in Asia, Reuters reported, citing five people with knowledge of the proposals.
The group, headed by the Asian Development Bank, plans to create public-private partnerships to buy out the heavily polluting plants and wind them down within 15 years, enabling countries to shift to renewable energy sources.
Early talks with Asian governments and multilateral banks are promising, the sources told Reuters, and the group aims to have a model ready for the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November.
Thermal coal is used to generate about 40% of the world’s electricity, but power generation from coal is very carbon dioxide intensive, making it a significant contributor to climate change.
Western investors are increasingly wary of any association with thermal coal, but countries such as India and China rely on imported thermal coal and this is expected to continue in the long term.