Financing for energy transition in Asean gains momentum at COP28

[DUBAI] Plans to corral capital to finance South-east Asia’s transition to a low-carbon economy is underway at the annual United Nations climate change conference - the latest development being the first early retirement of a coal plant in Indonesia.

On Sunday (Dec 3) at the Indonesia pavilion at COP28, Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani announced that the 660-megawatt Cirebon-1 plant will likely cease operations in December 2035 – seven years earlier than its original retirement date of July 2042.

This deal comes one year after South-east Asia’s largest economy inked a US$20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with a group of developed nations made up mostly from the Group of Seven countries and private-sector banks.