Debate

The imperative to phase out unabated coal-fired power generation presents particular challenges for low- and middle-income countries in the APAC region, where billions of dollars in public and private capital will be needed to purchase plants for decommissioning or to incentivize their owners to significantly shorten the plants’ operating lives.¹“GFANZ’s APAC Network Opens Consultation for Managed Phaseout of Coal in Asia-Pacific.” Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, June 4, 2023. The Institute is collaborating with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) on research that will simulate the early-phase out of coal-fired power plants in select APAC countries.

Reaching net-zero will require reducing emissions commensurate with the specific contribution of each industry to greenhouse-gas pollution.¹Pathways to reducing emissions in line with the goal of reaching net-zero vary by sector. See, e.g., “Target Setting Protocol, Third Edition.” UN-convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, January 2023. The Institute has teamed with Galvanize Climate Solutions to show how capital can influence the future emissions trajectory of hard-to-decarbonize industries such as cement, steel and chemicals.