The Philippines has overtaken Indonesia and China to enter the top 10 economies most dependent on coal power, according to data from energy think tank Ember, highlighting the challenges they face in achieving their green energy goals.
The share of coal in the country’s electricity generation increased for the fifteenth consecutive year in 2023, data showed, despite a goal of reducing reliance on the fuel to less than half of total electricity generation by 2030.
Kosovo had the highest reliance on coal in 2023, according to data released by Ember, with 88.21% of its electricity coming from the polluting fuel. Mongolia, South Africa, India and Kazakhstan, followed by the Philippines, rank 7th on the list.
Coal accounted for 61.92% of all electricity generated in the archipelago in 2023, up from 59.07% in 2022 – the biggest increase in reliance on the fossil fuel since 2016.
The Philippines wants to double solar additions and triple wind capacity in 2030 from current levels and is banking on rapid construction of offshore wind farms.
While the Philippines has overtaken Indonesia, ranked 8th, in terms of coal’s share of electricity generation, coal remains Indonesia’s preferred fuel.
China is no longer in the top 10 in 2023 as the acceleration of renewables has helped reduce the share of coal in its electricity generation, but it remains the largest overall producer of electricity from coal, with India coming in second.
“Indonesia and the Philippines are lagging behind other countries in the ASEAN region when it comes to wind and solar energy deployment,” Ember said in a statement on Monday. Indonesia and the Philippines have struggled to increase their renewable energy production capacity due to the costs involved.
Indonesia has become the world’s fifth largest producer of coal-fired electricity, with production growing at an average rate of 7.1% over 8 years, overtaking South Korea for the first time.
“This rise has allowed Indonesia to overtake Australia in 2018, Germany in 2019, Russia in 2020 and South Africa in 2022,” Ember said. (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Writing by Elaine Hardcastle)
