Transforming Electric Power Generation for a Low-Carbon Environment

The transformation of the electric power sector to reduce greenhouse gases presents a policy challenge for East and South Asia. Competitively priced electric power generation is vital to economic development, erasing poverty, and improving living conditions in the region. Yet it is dominated by power plants operating on thermal coal that contributes the most greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) per kilowatt hour (kWh) of any energy source. Given the economic growth aspirations of emerging markets and the domestic availability of cheap coal, these countries are intent on using coal. This report examines the implications of a coal-based energy future in the region.