Report: Asian Coal Expansion Threatens Paris Goals

A new report is urging countries in South and Southeast Asia to reverse their plans for coal-fired power plant expansion in favor of renewable energy, according to an article in Climatewire.

The report, released by the research institute Climate Analytics, said shifting away from coal will not only support the Paris Agreement's climate goals, but renewables such as solar and wind are a lower-cost energy source for developing countries.

Turning away from coal may be easier said than done. Jackson Ewing, senior fellow at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, told Climatewire that using coal as an energy source is tempting to developing countries because it has a proven track record.

"It can be built with a time horizon that's relatively predictable and using established technologies," he said.