US climate summit declarations deal major blow to coal in Asia

(For Our Climate, Seoul, 22 April 2021) Coal in Asia is facing a far more challenging future, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in today pledging to end public overseas coal financing and enhance its 2030 emissions target within this year, and Japan’s Prime Minister Suga committing to toughening emissions cuts at the Leaders Summit on Climate.  South Korea has been called a “climate villain” by the international community for failing to meet unambitious emissions targets and consistently ranking among the world’s top three overseas coal financiers, along with China and Japan. Most recently, the Korean government drew fire for pushing a Green New Deal domestically while its public institutions backed the Jawa 9, 10 coal power projects in Indonesia and Vung Ang 2 coal power project in Vietnam. Prime Minister Suga committed to enhancing Japan’s NDC by 46-50% below 2013 levels by 2030, and China’s President Xi Jinping committed to phasing down coal consumption in the country’s 15th five-year plan period.