Chinese version below
- More than half of the companies on the GCEL 2020 are based in Asia
- Net-zero goals increase pressure on financial institutions in China, Japan, and South Korea
- Investors, banks, and insurers in risk undermining their countries’ respective net-zero goals
Investors, banks, and insurers in China, Japan, and South Korea risk undermining their countries’ respective net-zero goals if they continue to prop up the coal industry, warn climate experts.
Today, Urgewald and 30 partner NGOs released a new update of the “Global Coal Exit List” (GCEL), the world’s most comprehensive database of companies operating along the thermal coal value chain (attached database can be filtered by country). 488 companies, more than half of the total companies on the list to be excluded from financial portfolios, are based in Asia.
The GCEL has played an influential role in shaping the coal divestment actions of many large investors. Over 400 financial institutions - including 30 Asian financial institutions - are now registered users of the database and investors representing over US$14 trillion in assets are using one or more of the GCEL’s three divestment criteria to exclude coal companies from their portfolios. As Peter Cashion, Head of Climate Finance at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) says: “The GCEL is a one-of-a-kind resource for investors and financial institutions that want to understand and manage climate risks in their portfolios.”
New Coal Plants Totaling over 520 GW in the Pipeline
While China has announced a 2060 carbon neutrality goal, the real litmus test for the government’s climate ambition is its upcoming 14th Five Year Plan to be approved at the country's next Two Sessions meeting in March next year. Currently, almost half of the 522 GW of new coal-fired power capacity planned worldwide are located in China. Accordingly, 4 of the world’s 5 top coal plant developers are Chinese companies: China Energy (43 GW), China Datang (34 GW), China Huaneng (29 GW) and China Huadian (15 GW). With close to 14 GW in the pipeline, India’s National Thermal Power Corporation is the world’s 5th largest coal plant developer.
With over 9 GW, Japan has the largest coal plant pipeline of any high-income country. But the country is still involved in shipping and mining coal, and Japanese companies are planning to build even more coal-fired capacity overseas, despite the country’s recent net-zero goal. Sumitomo Corp, Mitsubushi Corp, and Marubeni are the top three coal plant developers overseas. In Vietnam and Indonesia, Japan’s big trading houses and utilities are developing coal plants with a total installed capacity of 10.8 GW. When it comes to developing new coal power projects abroad, however, Chinese companies like China Huadian, PowerChina, and First Pacific (Hong Kong) take first, second and third place respectively in terms of most coal capacity. All in all, Chinese companies are developing over 37 GW of new coal-fired capacity in 14 countries.
Poland is only one of many countries, where governments are still rushing to rescue troubled coal industry players. A textbook example is South Korea’s flagship EPC contractor and coal plant manufacturer, Doosan Heavy. Up to 80% of Doosan Heavy’s revenue comes from building coal power plants and as orders have dwindled, the company accumulated a net loss of US$ 2.24 billion between 2014 and 2019. Although the South Korean government had promised to put an end to coal financing, it has nonetheless put together a rescue package of close to US$3 billion to bail out Doosan Heavy. As Joojin Kim from the South Korean NGO Solutions for our Climate says: “Companies whose business model revolves around coal should not receive government financing.
“Korea’s current energy plans and investment decisions are inconsistent with Korea’s 2050 carbon-neutral pledge. Korea could take meaningful action toward this commitment by withdrawing from planned overseas coal power investments in Indonesia and Vietnam, and stopping the construction of new coal and combined gas power plants at home."
In many Asian countries, the prospects for new coal power projects are, however, beginning to crumble. In India, coal power projects totaling 47 GW were cancelled in 2019. In Bangladesh, which has the world’s 6th largest coal plant pipeline, the State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources announced in October 2020 that 16 out of 21 coal power plants would likely be cancelled. And in the Philippines, which has the world’s 7th largest coal plant pipeline, the Department of Energy in October 2020 declared a moratorium for further new coal power plants. The Philippine People for Power Coalition is adamant that the new policy must also be applied to the over 10 GW of coal-fired capacity in the pipeline. In Malaysia, the country’s state-owned utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad declared in September 2020 that it will not build any new coal power plants.
Lidy Nacpli from Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development said: “The finance sector is propagating the myth that Asian countries depend on coal power for affordable energy but this is an outdated, illogical and dangerous assertion. It has already been established for several years that renewable energy is a viable, accessible and as low-cost if not cheaper alternative. We have little time and space left to keep global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees. Any plan to keep building new coal-fired power plants in Asia must stop now. Rapid just transition away from coal and fossil fuels must be pursued immediately.
Heffa Schuecking, director of Urgewald, said: “We are in a climate emergency and a speedy exit from coal is more urgent than ever. Our database identifies 940 companies the finance industry needs to blacklist if it is serious about fulfilling the Paris goals. Even in Asia, which has up to now been the coal industry’s biggest stronghold, the prospects for the industry are beginning to crumble. Bangladesh is stopping coal projects, the Philippines announced a moratorium on new coal plants and South Korean and Japanese companies are under intense pressure because of planned coal plants at home and abroad. With governments stepping away from coal at a rapid pace, banks that continue to finance coal power projects are both out of step with their government's climate ambitions and throwing money into a twilight industry.”
Notes for editors:
- The 2020 GCEL can be downloaded at: www.coalexit.org
- The GCEL covers the largest coal plant operators and producers, companies that generate over 20% of their revenues or power generation from coal, and companies that are planning to expand coal mining, coal power or coal infrastructure. The database features 940 parent companies as well as over 2,000 subsidiaries and affiliates, whose activities range from coal mining, coal trading and transport to coal power generation and manufacturing of equipment for the coal industry. All in all, the companies listed in the GCEL represent 88% of the world’s coal production and 85% of the world’s coal-fired capacity.
- For further information, contact: Heffa Schuecking, heffa@urgewald.org, +49-160-96761436
Jacey Bingler, jacey@urgewald.org, +49-175-5217571 - The GCEL was first launched in November 2017 and is updated each fall.
- Most of the information in the database is drawn from original company sources, such as annual reports, investor presentations and stock filings. Data on coal power expansion was mainly drawn from Global Energy Monitor’s Coal Plant Tracker.
煤炭撤资是亚洲经济体实现碳中和的必要措施
气候专家警告，中国、日本和韩国的投资者、银行以及保险公司若继续支持煤炭行业，将会破坏本国实现碳中和的目标。
今天，德国环保机构Urgewald和30个非政府组织合作伙伴共同发布了“全球煤炭撤资清单”（Global Coal Exit List，简称“GCEL”) 的更新版本。GCEL是全球覆盖最全面的动力煤产业价值链企业数据库（可按国家筛选数据）。其中，488家亚洲企业被排除在金融投资组合之外，超过清单的一半。
GCEL在影响许多大投资者煤炭撤资行动中发挥了重要作用。全球400多家金融机构， 其中包括30家亚洲金融机构，都是该数据库的注册用户。资产规模超过14万亿美元的投资者们正在使用GCEL三项撤资标准中的一项或多项，将煤炭公司排除在其投资组合之外。国际金融公司 （IFC）的气候融资部门负责人彼得·凯师恩称：“GCEL为想要了解和管理投资组合气候风险的投资者和金融机构提供了一个独一无二的资源。”
新增燃煤电厂总发电容量超过520GW
尽管中国已经宣布了2060年实现碳中和，但政府减排雄心的真正试金石是明年3月将在两会上通过的“十四五”规划。目前，全球已规划的522GW新增燃煤发电容量中，近一半位于中国。全球5大煤电厂开发商中，有4家是中国企业：中国能源建设集团（43GW）、中国大唐集团（34GW）、中国华能集团（29GW）和中国华电集团（15GW）。 印度国家火电公司燃煤发电新增14GW，是全球第5大煤电厂开发商。
日本新增煤电产能超过9GW，是煤电投产新增最多的高收入国家。尽管日本最近提出了碳中和的目标，但日本仍在从事煤炭的运输和开采业务，日本企业正计划在海外建设更多的燃煤发电能力。住友商事、三菱商事和丸红株式会社是日本三大海外燃煤电厂开发商。在越南和印度尼西亚，日本大型贸易公司和公用事业公司开发中的总装机容量达10.8GW。然而，在开发新的海外煤炭发电项目方面，中国华电、中国电力和第一太平（香港）等中国企业分别位居第一、第二和第三。中国企业在14个国家投产了超过37GW的新燃煤发电项目。
包括像波兰在内的很多国家政府仍在忙于拯救陷入困境的煤炭行业。韩国EPC承包商、燃煤电厂制造商斗山重工就是一个典型的例子。斗山重工80%的收入来自建造燃煤电厂，随着订单减少，公司在2014年至2019年间净亏损22.4亿美元。韩国政府虽然已经承诺停止煤炭融资，但仍然批准将近30亿美元的救助方案，以资助斗山重工。韩国非盈利组织气候解决方案的金柱津（Joojin Kim) 评论：“商业模式围绕煤炭发展的企业不应该获得政府融资。”
“韩国目前的能源计划和投资决定与韩国2050年实现碳中和的承诺不符。韩国应该采取有意义的行动来兑现这一承诺：取消计划中的印度尼西亚和越南煤炭发电项目投资，停止在国内建设新的煤炭和天然气发电厂。”
不过，许多亚洲国家新投产的煤炭发电项目前景暗淡。印度2019年取消的煤电项目总计47GW。孟加拉国新增燃煤发电容量全球第六，2020年10月，该国国家能源和矿产资源部长宣布，21座拟建煤电厂项目中有16座可能被取消。菲律宾新增燃煤发电容量全球第七，该国能源部于2020年10月宣布暂停建设更多新的燃煤电厂。菲律宾人民电力联盟坚信，新政策还必须适用于该国超过10 GW的新增燃煤发电项目。马来西亚国有企业国家能源公司在2020年9月宣布，将不再建设任何新的燃煤电厂。
亚洲人民债务与发展运动的利迪·纳克普利 (Lidy Nacpli) 表示：“金融业正在传播一个错误观念，即亚洲国家依赖煤电来获取负担得起的能源。但这种说法已经过时，不合逻辑且极其危险。多年来，人们已经确定可再生能源是一种可行的、可获得的、即使不是更便宜也是低成本的替代能源。留给人们将全球气温升高幅度控制在1.5度以内的时间不多了。任何继续在亚洲建设的新燃煤电厂的计划，现在都必须停止。必须立即实现从煤炭和化石能源撤资的正义转型。”
Urgewald主任赫法·舒金 (Heffa Schuecking) 表示：“我们正处于气候紧急状态，迅速退出煤炭市场比以往任何时候都更加紧迫。我们的数据库显示，如果金融业真的想要实现巴黎协定制定的目标，就需要将940家公司列入投资黑名单。即便在迄今一直是煤炭行业最大据点的亚洲，煤炭行业依然式微。孟加拉国正在停止煤炭项目，菲律宾宣布暂停建设新的煤电厂，而韩国和日本企业由于计划在国内外兴建燃煤电厂而承受巨大压力。随着各国政府迅速退出煤炭行业，继续为煤炭发电项目提供融资的银行，不但与政府雄心勃勃的气候政策不符，而且只是把钱扔向夕阳产业。”
垂询详情：
- 2020 “全球煤炭撤资清单”（GCEL) 下载链接： www.coalexit.org。
- GCEL涵盖全球最大的煤电厂运营商和生产商，煤电收入或煤电产能占其总收入或总发电产能20%以上的企业，以及正计划扩大煤炭开采、煤炭发电或煤炭基础设施的企业。该数据库包括940家母公司以及2000多家子公司和关联企业，经营范围涵盖煤炭开采、煤炭贸易、煤炭运输、煤炭发电及煤炭工业设备制造。GCEL数据库披露的企业占全球煤炭产量的88%，占全球燃煤发电产能的85%。
- 更多信息，请联系Heffa Schuecking女士，电邮 heffa@urgewald.org 或电话 +49-160-96761436；及Jacey Bingler女士, 电邮 jacey@urgewald.org 或电话+49-175-5217571。
- “全球煤炭撤资清单” 首次发布于2017年11月，每年秋季更新。
- 数据库中的大部分数据来自公司自行披露信息，如年报、投资者陈述和股票备案。有关煤电扩张的数据主要来自全球能源监测的煤电厂追踪系统。
