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globalprosperity
CONSUMERS ALLIANCE FOR
January 2011
Unplugging ASEAN An Inside Look at Greenpeace and WWF’s Anti-Coal Scheme
to Freeze Southeast Asia’s Energy and Economic Future
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Executive Summary
The Campaign Against Coal
in ASEAN CountriesGreenpeace, WWF and other non-governmental organiza-
tions (NGOs) have reopened their global campaigns
against coal in Southeast Asia. They are seeking to reduce
the use of the world’s most affordable, most abundant and
most efficient mineral resource. By pushing an agenda that
aims to replace this resource with high-cost and highly-
inefficient renewable energy sources, Greenpeace and its
allies seek to limit the possibilities for socio-economic
transformation in the region’s developing countries.
An Unjustified Attack on ASEAN Coal
These NGOs claim that coal is the “dirtiest” of all mineralresources. They have argued that the industry is responsible
for poor worker safety conditions and even human rights
abuses. There are many forms of coal, some more clean
than others, and Asian coal is generally regarded as being
more energy efficient and thus cleaner. And one must keep
in mind that every source of energy comes with its positive
and negative aspects. As for the allegations regarding
safety and rights, these claims are commonly levied against
nations whose desire to develop is being stifled by elite
Western groups.
Greenpeace Creates More Enemies
than Friends in Southeast Asia
At the end of September 2010, Greenpeace launched its
“Turn the Tide” campaign, which sought to “promote climate
change solutions by showcasing renewable energy and
energy efficiency solutions in Thailand, Indonesia and the
Philippines — and expose how coal-fired power plants and
deforestation are worsening the global problem of climate
change.”1
The campaign proved controversial for Greenpeace,who developed more enemies in the region than friends.
The Economic Importance of
Coal to ASEAN Countries
Coal makes a significant economic contribution to the
global economy. It i s mined in more than 50 countries, and
the industry employs over seven million people worldwide,
90 percent of them in the developing world. It is a major
source of foreign hard currency earnings, as well as saving
import costs. Five of the 11 countries in Southeast Asia —
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
– produce coal. In 2008 these countries produced approx-imately 337 million metric tons of coal.2
Coal-Generated Electricity:
The Development Angle
The global challenge to provide adequate access to energy
is daunting. According to the International Energy Agency
(IEA), 1.4 billion people in developing countries, or 20 percent
of the world’s population, do not have access to electricity. 3
Developing countries in Asia currently account for 55 percent
of the total number of people in the world without access
to electricity. Electricity is the lifeblood of any developing
society. Burning coal is the simplest, least expensive way to
convert that mineral’s stored energy into electricity.
World Bank, ASEAN Have Committed to
Coal for Economic Development
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has
re-committed to intensifying cooperative partnerships in
the promotion and use of coal and to explore an ASEAN
agreement on coal supply and trading for regional energysecurity. The importance of coal-generated electricity also
has a health aspect. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), each year over 1.45 million people die
prematurely due to household air pollution caused by the
inefficient combustion of biomass.4 Affordable electricity
will save lives.
The Anti-Development Angle of the
Renewables Campaign in ASEAN
In place of the use of coal, NGOs propose the widespread
use of renewable energy resources, combined with meas-
ures to slow increases in overall demand for energy in thedeveloping world. There are very specific impediments to
the transition to renewable energy resources, and a slow-
ing of the overall demand for energy in the developing
world is akin to a slowing of its economic growth.
Conversion Risks too Great for
Developing ASEAN Nations
Renewable energy sources have struggled to make an
impact in the developed world, let alone in developing
countries. In 2007, these resources, such as hydroelectric,
geothermal, solar and wind, accounted for only 15 percent
of electricity generation in the ASEAN region. As European
countries with better access to technologies and greater
financial resources fail to effectively develop electricity from
renewable sources, it is not surprising that ASEAN countries
have stuck by traditional, cost-effective methods of
generating electricity.
1 Greenpeace Philippines, “Turn the Tide and Make a Difference”, September 2010, accessed at: http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/Turn-the-Tide/ .
2 International Energy Agency (IEA), “Coal and Peat Statistics”, 2008, accessed at:http://www.iea.org/stats/prodresult.asp?PRODUCT=Coal%20and%20Peat.
3 The Christian Science Monitor, Stephen Kurczy, “To meet UN Millennium Development Goals, fight energy poverty, report says”, September 21, 2010, accessed at:http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/0921/To-meet-UN-Millennium-Development-Goals-fight-energy-poverty-report-says.
4 International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Outlook 2010, “Energy Poverty & Health”, 2010, accessed at: http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/health.asp.
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Various environmental NGOs continue to wage vicious
campaigns against the use of coal in Southeast Asia. Theseefforts blatantly disregard the fact that ASEAN is one of the
fastest growing economic regions in the world. In addition,
increasing energy demand is especially prevalent throughout
ASEAN countries, given the region’s economic and demo-
graphic growth. Advocating an agenda that aims to replace
one of the world’s most affordable and abundant natural
resources will severely hinder socio-economic progress
throughout ASEAN countries.
Yet ASEAN is also still a developing region with high levels
of poverty and low levels of social development. Until now,
economic growth has been based on the availability anduse of affordable and efficient energy.
ASEAN’s primary energy demand is projected to triple
between 2005 and 2030, with an average annual growth
rate of four percent. This rate is much higher than the
world’s average of 1.8 percent.5 If the region is to eradicate
poverty, much will depend on meeting this demand as
cheaply and efficiently as possible.
The developed world was built on the availability and use
of economical energy resources, primarily coal. Low-cost
energy drove the Industrial Revolution and lif ted today’s
developed countries out of poverty.
Without the ability to use affordable energy sources,
ASEAN countries will not be able to do the same. An
anti-coal vision for the ASEAN region is essentially an anti-
development vision, one that will condemn the developing
nations of Southeast Asia to limited growth and continued
high levels of poverty.
An Unjustified Attack on ASEAN Coal
Recent reports on coal in Southeast Asia by NGOs such
as Greenpeace and WWF have blamed the industry for
everything from human health issues to climate change and
deforestation. 6
NGOs claim that coal is the “dirtiest” of all mineral
resources.7 These groups have argued that the coal
industry begets human rights abuses and hazardous work-
place conditions. They have associated coal mining wi th
land and water system degradation. Environmental NGOs
claim, moreover, that coal combustion is the largestcontributor to GHG emissions; they have also blamed coal
for a host of other pollution problems.8
In a recent report condemning the Indonesian coal industry,
Greenpeace argued that coal mining was primarily respon-
sible for the destruction of forest cover in the Province of
South Sumatra, where the NGO claimed there “was little
forest cover left.”9 This claim runs counter to Indonesian
Government figures that state the province has a total land
area of 53,435 sq. km, of which almost 60 percent remains
forested.10
Anti-coal arguments made against ASEAN countries fail to
address the vital contribution the industry has to economic
growth and poverty alleviation in favor of an over dramati-
zation of environmental issues to forward a global environ-
mentalist agenda.
Additionally, these arguments fail to consider the effects
that a cessation of coal-generated power would have on
developing world economies. This anti-coal advocacy,
moreover, adds to the plight of the poor. Increased elec-
tricity prices would raise costs across the board. Health,
education, food, water and industry would all be affected,
and the people that can least afford increased expenses
would be hurt most.
Environmental groups would prefer that natural resources
5 ASEAN, “Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2015,” ASEAN Ministers on Energy, 2010, Vietnam, 4.
6 WWF, “Coming Clean: The Truth and Future of Coal in Asia Pacific”, 2007, Hong Kong, 6.
7 Greenpeace Southeast Asia, “Batubara Mematikan: The High Price of Cheap Coal”, 2010, Indonesia, 3.
8 WWF, “Coming Clean: The Truth and Future of Coal in Asia Pacific”, 2007, 13 – 17.
9 Greenpeace, “Batubara Mematikan: The High Price of Cheap Coal”, 2010, 8.10 Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, accessed at:http://indonesia-colombo.lk/culture-tourism.php?article_id=1.
The Campaign Against Coal in ASEAN Countries
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were not used by humans to further social, cultural or
economic development. They have fought to ceaseconversion of forests, for the limitation of agricultural
practices in developing countries and for the cessation of
mineral resource production.
Aside from ASEAN, even in the United States the problem
is compounded, given that Greenpeace and other NGOs
have effectively killed the domestic coal industry. From
burdensome regulations governing mining to an aggressive
agenda to restrict access to mineral rich land, these
groups have ensured that U.S. businesses – and the
workers these firms employ — must source their coal from
outside the U.S. And this coal now must come from
Southeast Asia.
It is clear that, despite these NGOs’ continued protests
that they are looking for relatively cleaner sources of
energy, their agenda is driven by one goal: to see an end
to the use of one of the world’s least expensive sources of
energy. In sum, without cost-effective energy for the power
industry and without major trade sectors such as mineral
resources, forestry and agriculture to drive economies,
however, developing countries would simply fall out of
the race. The environmentalist agenda against coal is
simply unsustainable, unrealistic and impractical.
Greenpeace Creates More Enemies
than Friends in Southeast Asia
Last fall, Greenpeace launched its misguided “Turn the Tide”
campaign, which sought to “promote climate change solu-
tions by showcasing renewable energy and energy efficiency
solutions in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines — and
expose how coal-fired power plants and deforestation are
worsening the global problem of climate change.”11
The campaign coincided with the 10th anniversary of
Greenpeace’s official presence in Southeast Asia. During
this imprudent effort, Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior vessel
protested against coal operations in all three countries.12
Greenpeace’s activities were disruptive and, in some
cases, were on the verge of being illegal.
Greenpeace Crimes Against
Sovereign Nations and People
Thailand
• Greenpeace used inflatable boats to trespass in Map Ta
Phut Industrial estate waters to protest against a coal-
fired power generation plant. This il legal water-borne
exercise disrupted business in the estate; and
• Greenpeace activists also called for increased
investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy
technologies by ending all subsidies to fossil fuels,
nuclear projects and energy-intensive industries in
Thailand.13
11 Greenpeace Southeast Asia, “Turn the Tide”, accessed at:http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/news/ .
12 Ibid.
13 Greenpeace Southeast Asia, “Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior calls on Thailand to ‘Turn the Tide’”, September 17, 2010, accessed at:http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/news/Greenpeace-flagship-Rainbow-Warrior-calls-on-Thailand-to-Turn-the-Tide /.
The environmentalist agendaagainst coal is simply
unsustainable, unrealistic
and impractical.
Environmental groups would
prefer that natural resources
were not used by humans to
further social, cultural oreconomic development.
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Indonesia
• The Rainbow Warrior , which the Consumers Alliance for
Global Prosperity (CAGP) deemed a warship, was
banned from docking in Indonesia by the Indonesian
Government, citing differences in the ship’s planned
itinerary and visa applications.
• Despite being banned from docking, Greenpeace
disrupted local villagers and workers by protesting
offshore at the Cirebon coal-fired power plant. They
also launched a new report which protested against
Indonesia’s plans to increase electricity generation from
coal to roughly 34.4 percent by 2025. Greenpeace
called on Indonesia’s government to embrace clean
energy instead.14
Philippines
• On the last leg of its “Turn the Tide” tour, Greenpeacedisrupted local villagers during an offshore protest
against plans to build a $450 million, 200 megawatt
(MW) coal-fired power plant at a proposed construction
site in Mindanao, Southern Philippines.15
The campaign proved controversial for Greenpeace, who
developed more enemies in the region than friends. Most
symbolic was the Indonesian Government’s refusal to allow
the Rainbow Warrior to dock at the main port in Jakarta,
the nation’s capital.
This denial of Greenpeace’s flagship campaign symbol wasa telling sign that the people of Indonesia had enough.
Greenpeace’s scare tactics threaten the livelihoods of
millions of Indonesians, and its use of media-savvy antics
like the Rainbow Warrior steals the chance of a better life
away from hard-working families throughout Southeast
Asia. Indonesia sent a clear message: stop blindly pushing
radical environmentalism to the detriment of our economic
development.
Perhaps Indonesia had learned from the experiences of oth-
ers. Last year, Greenpeace lobbied the British Government
to block a World Bank loan slated for South Africa intended
to assist the country in financing a range of energy initiatives,
including a new coal-fired power plant and renewable power
sources. The organization argued that the “risk to the
world’s climate from the [coal] plant’s emissions outweighs
the benefits of the secure electricity it would supply.”16
This intense lobbying effort was undertaken despite the
fact that as many as one-third of households in certain
South African provinces have no electricity supply at all.
And prior to this coordinated assault on the future of South
Africa’s reliable electricity supply, electricity prices rose al-
most 30 percent in 2008.17
South Africa’s Government rightfully chastised the group
for its lobbying. South African Finance Minister Pravin
Gordhan stated, “It is regrettable that [a] very small group
of NGOs … are putting their environmental concerns …
above the economic needs of South Afr ica and our need
to grow the economy so that all the people benefit.”18
14 Greenpeace Southeast Asia, “Greenpeace Calls for An Energy Revolution in Indonesia”, October 19, 2010, accessed at:http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/news/Quit-Coal-Indonesia/ .
15 Greenpeace Southeast Asia, “Sarangani communities all set to knock out coal”, November 20, 2010, accessed at:http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/News/news-stories/sarangani-communites-all-set-to-knock-out-coal/ .
16 TheTimes, Ben Webster, “Britain may block World Bank loan for coal plant in South Africa”, April 6, 2010, London, UK, accessed at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7088297.ece.
17 MarketWatch , Polya Lesova, “South Africa raises electricit y prices by 27.5%: In response to crippling power shortages, regulator allows price hikes”, June 18, 2008, accessed at:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/south-africa-raises-electric-ity-prices-by-275.
18 TheTimes, Ibid.
Greenpeace’s scare tactics
threaten the livelihoods of
millions of Indonesians, and its
use of media-savvy antics like
the Rainbow Warrior steals the
chance of a better life...
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19 World Coal Institute, “Sustainable Entrepreneurship, the Way Forward for the Coal Industry”, 2002, London, UK.
20 World Coal Institute, “The Role of Coal as an Energy Source”, 2004, London, UK, 7.
21 International Energy Agency (IEA), “Coal Data for Southeast Asia 2008”, 2008, accessed at:http://www.iea.org/stats/coaldata.asp?COUNTRY_CODE=31.
22 Ibid.
23 World Coal Association, “Coal and Electricity”, 2010, accessed at:http://www.worldcoal.org/coal/uses-of-coal/coal-electricity/ .
24 World Coal Association, “Coal & Steel Statistics”, 2010, accessed at:http://www.worldcoal.org/resources/coal-statistics/coal-steel-statistics/ .
25 ASEAN Statistics, “Top Ten ASEAN Trade Commodity Groups 2009”, 2009, accessed at:http://www.aseansec.org/stat/Table22.pdf .
26 Bloomberg, Yoga Rusmana, “Indonesia’s Coal Benchmark Gains Most Since February”, December 08, 2010, accessed at:http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-08/indonesia-s-coal-benchmark-gains-most-since-february.html.
27 ASEAN, “ASEAN Community in Figures 2009”, 2009, ASEAN, Jakarta, Indonesia, 29.
28 Ibid., 57.
Coal makes a substantial contribution to the global econ-
omy. It is mined in more than 50 countries worldwide, and
the industry employs more than seven million people; 90percent of these workers reside in the developing world.19
A large portion of the coal industry in the developing world
is export oriented. It is thus a major source of foreign
currency earnings and acts as a saver of import costs,
as well.
Overall, coal generates more than $7 billion per year in
export revenues for developing countries and saves them
$60 billion or more in energy import costs every year.20
Five of the 11 countries in the Southeast Asian region —
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam — produce coal. Between 1996 and 2003, coal
production in the region almost doubled, increasing from
approximately 83 million metric tons to over 155 millionmetric tons. By 2008 this figure had doubled again, with
the region producing some 337 million metric tons of coal
that year.21
Indonesia dominates regional coal output, accounting for
over 80 percent of production. Vietnam and Thailand are
the next largest coal producers, with production shares of
11 and five percent respectively. The Philippines accounted
for an additional one percent of regional coal production.22
Outside of export income and tax revenue, coal mining
generates economic development at a local level. Large-
scale mines are often the biggest source of income for
rural communities in developing countries. They provide
wages for local employees and economic and social
infrastructure for local communities.
For consumers, coal offers excellent value. In most circum-
stances, it is cheaper per energy unit than other fuels, and,
as a result, has remained the fuel of choice for electricity
generation on a global basis. Coal produces 41 percent of
the world’s electricity,23 which is twice the share of its
nearest competitors, natural gas and hydroelectric. Coal
also is an essential element in 68 percent of the world’s
steel production, where it is used as fuel for the process of
extracting iron from iron ore.24
The Numbers: The Importance of
Coal and Minerals to ASEAN Exporters
ASEAN Total
In 2009, minerals and mineral products represented the
second most traded group of commodities for the ASEAN
region. Their trade represented $240 billion, or 16 percent
of total ASEAN trade. Minerals had an export value of
some $112 billion, or close to 14 percent of total ASEAN
exports.25 In fact, ASEAN member Indonesia is the world’s
second largest coal exporter, behind only Australia.26
In 2008, coal represented the 11th most exported trade
commodity in the ASEAN region and the second most
exported energy commodity behind petroleum. It com-
manded 1.3 percent of total ASEAN exports that year and
had a total export value of over $11 billion.27
Throughout ASEAN countries, the mining industry supplies
jobs to between one and five percent of the employed
population.28
The Economic Importance of Coal to ASEAN Countries
Outside of export income and
tax revenue, coal mining gener-ates economic development
at a local level.
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Indonesia
Indonesia is currently the world’s leading exporter of thermal
coal. In 2007, the country shipped 165 million metric tons,
or 30 percent of the global seaborne thermal coal supply.29
Indigenous coal reserves have played an important role in
Indonesia’s economy as a source of energy, industrial raw
material and foreign exchange. In 2007, mining and quar-rying contributed to 11.2 percent of national gross domes-
tic product (GDP). In 2008, mineral exports including coal
contributed the second largest share (18.8 percent) of
Indonesia’s total exports of more than $136 billion, behind
only oil and natural gas.
Overall, tax and non-tax revenue from oil, natural gas and
minerals accounted for 27.2 percent of the Indonesian
Government’s national budget in 2008.
Vietnam
In 2003 mining and quarrying accounted for a 9.4 percent
share of GDP and the sector employed around one percent
of the workforce. Coal is one of the main mineral exports,
along with petroleum. The country also mines antimony,
bauxite, chromium, gold, iron, natural phosphates, tin and
zinc.30
After petroleum, coal is the most important source of com-
mercial energy, meeting approximately 25 percent of the
country’s energy demand.
Thailand Thailand produces more than 40 types of minerals, with an
annual value of about $740 mill ion. More than 80 percent
of these minerals are consumed domestically.
In 2004, estimated coal consumption of 30.4 million short
tons exceeded coal production of 22.1 million short tons.
Philippines
The U.S. Department of State estimates that the Philippines
possess untapped mineral wealth of $840 billion.31 Atvarious times in i ts history, mining has contributed to as
much as 30 percent of the country’s GDP. In 2004, the
country derived 12 percent of its energy from coal, while
mining employed four percent of the labor force and used
about 9,000 hectares of the country’s total land area.
The Advantages of Coal Worldwide
The general ubiquity of coal globally makes it one of the
most cost-effective energy sources available to mankind.
Inexpensive energy is the life-blood of any economy, from
the least developed to the most advanced.
When the supply and production of such an inexpensive
energy resource is limited, the cost for that resource
increases markedly. This impacts not only the economies
where coal is extracted, but also everyone who demands
the energy coal provides to operate their businesses, as
well as the consumers who rely on readily accessible and
inexpensive goods and services, namely electricity.
It is estimated that more than 847 billion metric tons of
proven coal reserves still exist worldwide, enough to
provide the world with affordable and readily accessibleenergy for the next 119 years at current rates of produc-
tion.32 Thus, in the cyclical relationship of global prosperity,
there are few resources more important than coal.
29 Donald Ewart, Jr., Robert Vaughn, “Indonesian Coal”, Marston & Marston Inc, World Coal Asia Special, 2009, 1.
30 U.S. Library of Congress, “Country profiles: Vietnam”, Federal Research Division, 2005, 10.
31 U.S. Library of Congress, “Country profiles: Philippines”, Federal Research Division, 2006, 13.
32 World Coal Association, “Where is Coal Found?”, 2010, accessed at:http://www.worldcoal.org/coal/where-is-coal-found/ .
Throughout ASEAN countries,
the mining industry supplies
jobs to between one and fivepercent of the employed
population.
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Coal-Generated Electricity: The Development Angle
The global challenge to provide adequate access to
energy is daunting.
According to the IEA, around 2.4 billion people rely on
primitive biomass fuels for cooking and heating.33 What is
more, developing countries in Asia currently account for
more than half of the total world’s population that lacks
access to electrici ty.34 In Indonesia alone, some 81 million
people lack electricity. In the Philippines and Cambodia,
the figure is 9.5 and 11 million respectively. 35
In the absence of radical new policies, one billion people
may still lack access to electricity in 30 years time and the
number of people relying on biomass for cooking and
heating will actually rise to 2.6 billion.36
The need for affordable energy is particularly acute for the
poorest groups who spend a high proportion of their
incomes on heating and lighting.
In its recent Energy Strategy Approach Paper , the World
Bank states that, “Wi thout energy, economies cannot grow
and poverty cannot be reduced.”37 Electricity is the lifeblood
of any developing society. Burning coal is the simplest,
least expensive way to convert that mineral’s storedenergy into electricity.
If poor people have to wait for the development of renewable
substitutes for coal, they may have to wait a very long time.
World Bank, ASEAN Have Committed to Coal
for Economic Development
The World Bank and ASEAN have recognized coal’s bene-
fits to economic development.
In a recent justification of their continued financial support
for the development of coal-generated power plants, the
World Bank noted that while renewable energies offered
great potential, they were a long way off supplying the
base-load required in many developing countries.38
ASEAN has re-committed itself to intensifying cooperative
partnerships toward the promotion and use of coal. In
addition, member countries are currently exploring an
agreement on coal supply and trading to promote integral
energy security throughout the region.39
For many years, coal has been a crucial ingredient in
ASEAN planning for economic development. In the ASEAN
Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 1999 – 2004, the
group of countries noted that, “Coal is an energy resource
crucial for the region’s economic development. Besides itsabundance and wide distribution, coal... is one of the
cheapest fossil fuels.”40
ASEAN coal consumption increased from 50 million to
80 million metric tons between 1996 and 2002. By 2008,
this figure had doubled again to over 150 million metric
tons.41 Consumption in Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore at least doubled
or tripled during this time.
In Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam, coal is used extensively for power generation. It is
a particularly important ingredient in the energy mixes of
33 World Coal Institute, “The Role of Coal as an Energy Source”, 2004, London, UK, 7.
34 International Energy Agency (IEA), “Access to Electricity”, World Energy Outlook, 2010, accessed at:http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/electricity.asp.
35 International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Outlook 2010, “The Electricity Access Database”, 2010, accessed at: http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/database_electricty10/electricity_database_web_2010.htm.
36 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), “Energy and Poverty”, IAEA Bulletin, September 2002, accessed at: http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Magazines/Bulletin/Bull442/44204002429.pdf .
37 World Bank, Energy Strategy Approach Paper , 2009, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA, 1.
38 World Bank, Justin Lin, “World Bank Argument for Coal in Developing Countries”, March 02, 2009, accessed at:http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/why-coal.
39 ASEAN, “Joint Media Statement of the 28th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM)”, July 23, 2010, Da Lat, Vietnam, accessed at:http://www.aseansec.org/24940.htm.
40 ASEAN, “ASEAN Plan of Action on Energy Cooperation”, 2004, ASEAN, Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 – 20.
41 International Energy Agency (IEA), “Coal Data for Southeast Asia 2008”, 2008 accessed at:http://www.iea.org/stats/coaldata.asp?COUNTRY_CODE=31.
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Indonesia and the Philippines, with close to one third of the
electricity in these countries generated by coal-fired power
plants.
In Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, coal fired power ac-
counts for 10 to 15 percent of total electricity generation.42
Overall, coal accounted for 28 percent of electricity gener-
ation in the ASEAN region in 2009.43
ASEAN has predicted that both electricity and coal will
have the highest rates of growth in annual demand among
energy resources, as the region continues its economic
development towards 2030.44
Globally, the IEA predicts that coal use for power generation
will rise approximately 60 percent in the next three
decades.45
Across ASEAN, coal provides an affordable, safe and
increasingly clean fuel for power generation, where there is
often no alternative route to achieving widespread access
to electricity in a reasonable time frame.
Health Benefits of Affordable Electricity
The importance of coal-generated electricity also has a
health aspect.
Where electricity is not available, people use traditional
devices for cooking with biomass inside the home, includ-
ing open fires and mud stoves. With no operating chimneys,
the pollutants emitted by these devices are often many
times more lethal than typical outdoor levels.
Today, the number of premature deaths from household air
pollution is greater than the number of premature deaths
from malaria or tuberculosis.46 In particular, the WHO has
calculated that more 1.5 million people die from inhaling
the smoke of poor biomass combustion each year. This is
more than 4,000 people per day.47
42 Donald Ewart, Jr., “Southeast Asian Coal Developments”, 2004, Marston & Marston Inc, World Coal, 2.
43 International Energy Agency (IEA), Samantha Olz, Milou Beerepoot, “Working Paper: Deploying Renewables in Southeast Asia”, 2010, 26.
44 ASEAN Centre for Energy, “Presentation: Status of Renewable Energy i n ASEAN Region”, November 18, 2009, IEA-RETD Workshop on Cross-Regional Dialogue on Renewable Energy Visions and Initiatives, Tokyo, Japan.
45 International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Outlook 2002, OECD/IEA, 2002, Paris, France.
46 International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Outlook 2010, “Energy Poverty & Health”, 2010, accessed at: http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/health.asp.
47 Ibid.
The need for affordable energyis particularly acute for the
poorest groups who spend a
high proportion of their
incomes on heating and lighting.
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The Anti-Development Angle of the
Renewables Campaign in ASEAN
Instead of coal, NGOs propose the widespread use of
renewable energy sources combined with measures to
slow increases in the overall demand for energy in the
developing world.48
There are very specific impediments to the transition to
renewable energy sources, as recognized by the World
Bank and other development institutions. These mostly
relate to the financial cost of transition to renewable energy
technologies, the appropriateness of these resource devel-
opments to local environments and the inability of renew-
able resources to deliver even base-load levels of power.
Second, less energy demand in the developing world isakin to a slowing of the economic growth of the develop-
ing world. Any measures to decrease or slow the demand
for energy would no doubt affect the growth of national
economies throughout the ASEAN region.
The NGO alternative to the use of coal in energy develop-
ment is unrealistic. Solutions proposed by these environ-
mentalist groups fail to take into account immediate
economic consequences and seek to obstruct economic
development in the countries that need it most.
In its blueprint for the development of the global energy
sector, Greenpeace proposes that by 2020 some 38 percent
of the world’s electricity needs could be supplied by
renewable sources.49 By 2050, Greenpeace believes that
over 85 percent of the world’s energy consumption couldcome from renewable resources.50
These figures are unrealistic. As the World Bank has noted,
“Renewable energy offers great potential, but it alone can-
not, by any stretch of the imagination, provide all the elec-
tricity that is needed.”51
Conversion Risks too Great for
Developing ASEAN Nations
Throughout the developed world, renewable energy
sources thus far have failed to make a meaningful impact
on society. Their impact on the developing world, more-
over, has been even more minuscule.
In 2007, renewable energies such as hydroelectric,
geothermal, solar and wind accounted for only 15 percent
of electricity generation in the ASEAN region.52
In Malaysia and Thailand, renewable energy sources only
contribute between 5 and 8 percent of electricity genera-
tion. Historical data for Singapore shows no officially re-
ported power generation from renewable energy
sources.53
ASEAN countries have highlighted lack of infrastructure,
lack of financial support from banks, the high costs associ-
ated with small scale production and grid connection,
higher electricity prices and the complexity of necessarypermits and regulatory systems as key non-economic bar-
riers to the wholesale adoption of renewable power gener-
ation.54
Market-related barriers to renewable development in
ASEAN include high transaction costs, higher taxes, invisi-
bility of full costs, missing market infrastructure, restricted
access to technology and lack of market competition.55
48 Greenpeace, “Greenpeace Energy Revolution”, 2010, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 4.
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid.
51 World Bank, Justin Lin, “World Bank Argument for Coal in Developing Countries”, March 02, 2009, accessed at:http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/why-coal.
52 International Energy Agency (IEA), Samantha Olz, Milou Beerepoot, “Working Paper: Deploying Renewables in Southeast Asia”, 2010, 26.
53 Ibid., 29.
54 Ibid., 104.
55 Ibid., 106.
Any measures to decrease or
slow the demand for energy
would no doubt affect the
growth of national economies
throughout the ASEAN region.
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The anti-coal campaigns being waged by radical organizations such as Greenpeace and
WWF, along with their pushing for the wholesale adoption of renewable energy development
and power generation, are disadvantageous to the developing world generally and ASEAN
countries specifically. By insisting that developing countries adopt a whole range of economic
and non-economic measures at a time when they can least afford to do so, these
environmentalist groups are proving once again that they will shamelessly put their biased
worldview above the needs of the world’s most vulnerable.
It is no wonder ASEAN remains committed to coal and cheap electricity generation. ASEAN
countries need affordable and abundant energy to not only improve the social welfare of their
citizens, but also drive economic development in the region. The production and consumption
of coal are some of the best solutions to meet these challenges. It is disingenuous for
Greenpeace, WWF and other environmental groups to ignore this reality. Thankfully, ASEAN
countries know better.
Conclusion
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