{"id":401469,"date":"2025-09-11T18:07:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T16:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=401469"},"modified":"2025-09-11T18:07:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T16:07:30","slug":"in-asean-nations-coal-is-a-physical-manifestation-of-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=401469","title":{"rendered":"In ASEAN Nations, Coal Is a Physical Manifestation of Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Coal<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CO2 Coalition<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Vijay Jayaraj<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When most people think of ASEAN \u2013 a diverse association of Southeast Asian nations that include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam \u2013 they picture Thailand’s beaches, Singapore’s gleaming skyline or Indonesia’s temples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What they don’t see is an economic juggernaut that will drive some of the planet\u2019s largest growth in energy demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vietnam has emerged as a global manufacturing hub. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indonesia processes the world’s nickel for electric vehicle batteries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thailand manufactures automobiles for export across <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asia. Each of these economic engines demands reliable, affordable electricity that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, 2023 witnessed a demand increase of nearly 45 terawatt-hours (TWh), an amount of energy that must be generated, transmitted regionally, and delivered locally on a continual basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where did this new power come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coal.\u00a0\u00a0An astonishing 96% of that new demand was met by coal-fired power plants.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let that sink in. Coal, the energy source routinely demonized in Western capitals and at global climate summits, met nearly all the region\u2019s new electricity needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reality stands in direct contradiction to rosy predictions of a transition to \u201crenewables\u201d manufactured by highly compensated executives at elite consulting firms who have spent the better part of a decade selling energy fairy tales to governments and investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indonesia alone added 11 TWh of coal-generated electricity in 2023, while its electricity demand rose by 17 TWh, with coal meeting two-thirds of this increase. The Philippines generates more than 60% of its electricity from coal, and Malaysia and Vietnam each around 50%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultra-supercritical coal technology \u2013 using extraordinarily high temperatures and pressures and pioneered at Malaysia’s Manjung plant and Indonesia’s Batang facility, delivers higher efficiency than older coal plants. These advanced facilities demonstrate that coal technology continues to improve while wind and solar remain dependent on weather conditions and the time of day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wind and solar share across ASEAN remained a pitiful 4.5% in 2023. This minuscule contribution exposes the bankruptcy of consultants\u2019 promises of \u201crenewables\u201d dominating the regional power mix by mid-2020s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coal\u2019s dominance in recent years is not an accident; it is a necessity. Indonesia, the region\u2019s economic giant, leans on coal to power its export-driven industries, including nickel for EV batteries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vietnam\u2019s manufacturing boom, lifting millions into the middle class, runs on coal\u2019s steady output. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malaysia and the Philippines, too, rely on coal to sustain their growing economies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Singapore, a global hub of innovation, depends on coal to maintain its energy security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, to focus solely on the power grid is to miss the forest for the trees, as electricity is just one component of total energy consumption. Electricity represents only a fraction of total consumption across ASEAN. The larger picture is primary energy consumption, which includes fuel for transport, industry and heating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oil, natural gas and coal collectively hold the major share of ASEAN’s primary energy mix, with oil leading consumption patterns across transportation and industrial sectors. Factories, petrochemicals, shipping, aviation, and agriculture all consume fossil fuels in large quantities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASEAN countries are committing hundreds of billions of dollars to fossil fuel infrastructure that will operate for decades. Coal plants have an average lifespan of 40 years. These capital investments create long-term commitments to hydrocarbon use that extend far beyond current political cycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nineteen projects across Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, and Myanmar hold more than 540 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas. Countries don’t spend billions developing gas fields if they plan to abandon fossil fuels within the next decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASEAN\u2019s embrace of coal is about more than just keeping the lights on. These nations aren\u2019t chasing arbitrary climate targets; they\u2019re building the infrastructure of their future and prosperity for people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every new airport, every new highway and every new factory is a testament to the power of coal. To argue against coal is to oppose the physical manifestations of progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cgreen\u201d agenda, by seeking to eliminate coal, demands that the developing world stop building \u2013 an ultimatum that ASEAN is rightly and wisely ignoring.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This commentary was first published by\u00a0RealClearMarkets<\/a>\u00a0on September 9, 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vijay Jayaraj<\/a>\u00a0is a Science and Research Associate at the\u00a0<\/em>CO\u2082\u00a0Coalition<\/em><\/a>, Fairfax, Virginia. He\u00a0holds an M.S. in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia and a postgraduate degree in energy management from Robert Gordon University, both in the U.K., and a bachelor\u2019s in engineering from Anna University, India.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When most people think of ASEAN \u2013 a diverse association of Southeast Asian nations that include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam \u2013 they picture Thailand’s beaches, Singapore’s gleaming skyline or Indonesia’s temples.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":401474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore how ASEAN's reliance on coal shapes its energy future and fuels economic growth across the region's rapidly developing nations.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Coal Powers ASEAN's Growth: A Necessity for Progress","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818227,691837899,691835232,691819809,691819635,691818376,691818136],"class_list":{"0":"post-401469","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-asean-countries","9":"tag-green-agenda-2","10":"tag-renewables-2","11":"tag-climate-targets","12":"tag-coal","13":"tag-natural-gas","14":"tag-oil","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0AQOrSeskgvg5ZQzDFw5Yjx8uIqijqHdpvteWoYUKLX24SChcP8DELajROLML68eh2AXu2eCSdSGBRXAQ1R4aYzHhMX99XI2Pego-znFXTkK-NnLfQ0ejHZ3vYrDF81CH4d79LkcTlisDaYBRjZMHLOFSdhYx3g-1.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Grj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":213474,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=213474","url_meta":{"origin":401469,"position":0},"title":"Southeast Asia at Energy-Climate Crossroad","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/14\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Southeast Asia is at the crossroads of choosing between a climate agenda hostile to fossil fuels and the energy security its population desperately needs.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-483.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-483.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-483.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-483.png?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":421832,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=421832","url_meta":{"origin":401469,"position":1},"title":"Southeast Asia Continues Hurtling Down the Net Zero Suicide Track","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/17\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Net Zero may be on life support in the US and Europe, but Southeast Asia doesn\u2019t appear to have got the note. 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