Crucial Time to Have Baseline on ASEAN CO2 Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants
Jakarta, 9 July 2020
The 18th Annual Meeting of ASEAN Forum on Coal (AFOC) Council
Coal has been hailed as the core component of energy security and affordability in the ASEAN Member States (AMS) for the last decade. However, with the increasing pressure of climate change, coal and clean coal technology are projected to play a new role in the imminent energy transition, balancing energy security with sustainable development goals, and strengthening energy resilience.
On 9th July 2020, the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) in the collaboration with the Department of Mines, Ministry of Natural Resources and Mineral Conservation, Myanmar, organised the 18th Annual Meeting of ASEAN Forum on Coal (AFOC) Council. The meeting that was conducted virtually is attended by the focal points from the ASEAN Member States, as well as several international organisations as the cooperation partners. The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Abdul Razib Dawood, Chief Executive Officer of Energy Commission, Malaysia and AFOC Chairman.
The 18th AFOC Meeting is the second participation of ACCEPT, after the 17th AFOC Meeting last year, where the Meeting acknowledged the ACCEPT, a joint project of ACE and Norway which aims to support APAEC and to provide a coherent approach on the development of APAEC Phase II.
During the 17th annual meeting of the ASEAN Forum on Coal (AFOC) Council last year, AMS recognised the need of establishing the ASEAN emissions standard of Coal-Fired Power Plants (CFPPs). Thus, the AMS seeks assistance from the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT) to assist the Clean Coal Technology (CCT) Programme Area in conducting a baseline study on regional carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from CFPPs.
Responding to this request, Beni Suryadi, ACE Manager of Power, Fossil Fuels, Alternative Energy, and Storage (PFS) who are also the ACCEPT Project Manager, presented the concept note on “A Baseline study on ASEAN CO2 emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants” and the Work Plan. Therefore, the outcomes of this baseline study on CO2 emissions could be served as a reference for AFOC in the development of capacity building and training programme on CFPP Emission Standards and Roadmap. Nonetheless, in order to give a better overview, the emissions from CFPPs will be compared to fuel oil and diesel.
This study compliances with and focus on the AFOC mission, regarding promoting CCT and HELE (high efficiency low emission technology). It is expected to reveal whether CCT is able to reduce emissions from coal compared to other fossil fuels. Achieving sustainable development and a better environment are expected to be the ultimate outcomes of this study.
This study will be conducted by ACCEPT in collaboration with ACE’s Power, Fossil Fuels, Alternative Energy and Storage (PFS) Department, and AFOC Focal Points from all ASEAN Member States. The report is expected to be ready by early 2021.
(BS)