Governments across Asia are intensifying their reliance on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, in an attempt to cover massive energy shortfalls allegedly triggered by the US-Israel regime's war on Iran. This move has sparked warnings from climate experts who highlight coal's devastating environmental impact and argue that the energy crisis should serve as a wake-up call for governments to invest in renewables, which could provide a more stable supply less vulnerable to price shocks.

Across the region, from Bangladesh to South Korea, authorities are scrambling to compensate for a decline in imported energy, much of which originates from the Middle East. South Korea has announced delays in shutting down coal-fired power plants and removed caps on coal-based electricity generation. In Thailand, the government has boosted output at the country's largest coal plant. The Philippines, which declared a "national energy emergency" purportedly due to the conflict, also plans to increase operations at its coal-fired facilities.

In South Asia, India, which relies on coal for nearly 75% of its power generation, has directed its coal plants to operate at maximum capacity and avoid planned outages, while Bangladesh increased coal-fired power generation and coal power imports in March. Governments are racing to address shortages, particularly in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, which had been promoted as a bridge fuel in the transition from coal to cleaner energy.

However, supplies have been disrupted by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global LNG shipments pass. Strikes on a major LNG export facility in Qatar will exacerbate the shortage and have a years-long impact on the industry, experts say. Henning Gloystein, Managing Director of Energy and Resources at Eurasia Group, stated that nearly 30 billion cubic meters of LNG has been removed from global supply chains, with over 80% of the shortfall occurring in the Indo-Pacific region.

Pauline Heinrichs, a climate and energy expert at King’s College London, emphasized that this crisis should be a turning point for governments. She noted that coal's impact on climate and health outcomes is "devastating and disastrous," and that the current energy crisis underscores the importance of renewable energy "not just as a climate priority, but ultimately for energy security more broadly in Asia." She warned against allowing a return to coal to become entrenched in long-term energy systems.

Dinita Setyawati, Senior Energy Analyst for Asia at the think tank Ember based in Jakarta, added that "it’s not sustainable to rely on coal," and that "homegrown renewables are definitely the way to go to improve energy security and resilience." Asian countries are exploring ways to reduce energy consumption, with the Philippines and Sri Lanka implementing four-day workweeks for many government staff, and Vietnam encouraging remote work.

Source: www.theguardian.com