Fair Finance Asia Calls on Banks to End Coal Financing in ASEAN and Strengthen Social Safeguards
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Fair Finance Asia (FFA) and Influencing Just Energy Transition in the ASEAN (I-JET) call on banks and investors to stop financing coal expansion and strengthen social safeguards.
In a new report, Phasing out Coal, Phasing in Justice: Roadmap for Financing a Responsible Regional Coal Phase-out in Asia, FFA and I-JET assess the transition landscape in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Thailand, and in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), more broadly.
While ASEAN member states have introduced coal moratoriums, updated Nationally Determined Contributions, early-retirement plans for coal-fired power plants, green taxonomies, and carbon pricing, the report finds that these still fall short of a Paris-aligned 1.5°C pathway.
International coal finance restrictions have expanded, yet funding persists through corporate lending and upstream mining. Meanwhile, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is being positioned as a bridge fuel despite high costs, price volatility, stranded assets, and fossil fuel lock-in.
To achieve a credible, just phase-out, the report recommends:
- No new coal development, including for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital demand.
- Time-bound, enforceable phase-out plans with zero unabated coal.
- Permanent retirement or conversion of all units, with site remediation.
- An end to coal financing, including for false solutions.
- Binding just transition commitments.
The report also calls for strong social safeguards:
- Income support, reskilling, and decent green jobs for affected workers.
- Meaningful participation, free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and secure land rights for Indigenous Peoples.
- Gender-responsive policies.
- Protection of civic space and environmental and human rights defenders.
Bernadette Victorio, Program Lead, Fair Finance Asia, said: "The test is not only whether coal-fired power plants close, but whether the energy transition reduces inequality by protecting the rights and amplifying the voices of workers, communities, women and Indigenous Peoples."
Shubert Ciencia, Energy Justice and ASEAN Influencing Program Manager, Oxfam in Asia, said: "The ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026-2030 signals ASEAN's intent to accelerate decarbonization while maintaining energy security. Member states must now restrict investment in existing coal projects and prohibit new ones."
Victoria Fanggidae, Executive Director, The PRAKARSA, said: "Climate commitments are meaningless if financial flows continue to support coal. Indonesian financial institutions must stop enabling coal expansion, redirect capital to renewable energy, and embed human rights and just transition principles in financing decisions."
Genalyn Arcayera-Aquino, Economic Rights Program Manager, Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS), said: "Fossil fuel incentives without a clear phase-out plan create a chicken-and-egg problem: reliance on imported fuels keeps electricity costs high and delays a domestic renewable energy industry."
Yuki Tanabe, Program Director, Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), said: "Governments should drive early retirement of coal-fired power plants with stricter environmental regulations and higher taxes on coal generation."
Read the report: bit.ly/4wsaWt7
Media contacts:
Kyle Cruz
Influencing and Campaigning Manager
Fair Finance Asia
Shubert Ciencia
Energy Justice and ASEAN Influencing Program Manager
Oxfam in Asia
About Fair Finance Asia
FFA is a regional network of Asian civil society organizations working to ensure that financial institutions' funding decisions respect the social and environmental well-being of the communities where they operate. Learn more: fairfinanceasia.org
About Influencing Just Energy Transition in ASEAN
I-JET is a multi-country initiative advancing a gender-just and socially inclusive energy transition. Learn more: https://x.com/ijet_project
SOURCE Fair Finance Asia
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