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Some of the world’s biggest financial institutions are working on a plan to speed the closure of coal-fired power plants in Asia. BBC reports that the initiative was developed by UK insurer Prudential, is being driven by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and includes major banks HSBC and Citi. The ADB hopes the plan will be ready for the COP26 climate conference which is to be held in Scotland in November. The plan aims to tackle the biggest human-made source of carbon emissions.
Under the proposal, public-private partnerships will buy coal-fired plants and shut them far sooner than their usual operating lifespan. The ADB hopes to launch a pilot programme in a developing South East Asian nation – potentially Indonesia, the Philippines or Vietnam – in time for the COP26 event in November.
The International Energy Agency has forecast that global demand for coal will grow by 4.5 per cent this year, with Asia making up 80 per cent of that rise.