Who will finance coal-fired power in Asia?

Coal has played a key role in meeting rapidly growing power demand in Asia. Given the massive future power requirements in supporting the economic growth of emerging economies in Asia, many local governments and power companies are still showing strong appetite for coal to fuel the growth. However, financing attitudes to coal are changing in the face of stringent environmental regulations and enforcement globally. To date, these changes have mostly been adopted by export credit agencies (ECA) in the OECD countries and European banks. Investments in coal-based power in key emerging Asian markets have not been hampered significantly though. This is largely because Japanese, Chinese and other Asian banks have yet to adopt these more stringent standards amid ever-changing energy and environmental policies. In the event they do so, this would present downside risks to the future of coal-fired power in Asia.