Coal powered industrial revolution but now marginalized by rapidly rising renewable market, gas and seems to be loosing ground. In the era of clean energy revolution, does coal has future? Is coal going to stay in niche sectors and application or find new momentum? Asia is a new growing coal market, especially China, India, Indonesia, and emerging energy consumers such as Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines. Will coal find ways, at least for the short-medium term? These are timely and important question.
Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal participated in a deliberation on future of coal in Asia, titled “Coal in Asia: The Challenge for Policy and the Promise of Markets”, organized by King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) of Saudi Arabia in Singapore Hilton Hotel on 8th June. Details here https://www.kapsarc.org/workshops/coal-series/. The workshop was aimed to understand the drivers of coal consumption from an Asian perspective and understand how energy policy objectives and environmental policies are being balanced. The three key questions were:
(1) What are the impact of COP21 and how do Asian countries work with these new regulatory regimes?
(2) Increased Asian coal consumption will mean that the coal industry will increasingly be focused on the Asian markets. What are the regional views in terms of supply and demand scenarios and their impact on the seaborne coal markets?
(3) How will policy play a role in ensuring supply and balance in the markets?