Asia

Asia is home to 82% of the world’s coal generation. Fortunately, clean electricity investment is now significantly outweighing fossil fuel investment in the region and growth in coal generation is slowing down.

Asia started its electricity transition later than other regions, but is catching up fast. The share of solar and wind in Asia is now almost the same as the world average, and the share of renewables in Asia’s electricity mix reached 27% in 2023. Two of the world’s top five absolute generators of wind and solar are in Asia, and the share of wind and solar is growing in Asian countries’ electricity mixes. 

While most Asian countries have set long-term energy transition targets, many lack immediate plans for rapid transformations this decade. However, countries like India, Indonesia and Viet Nam have targets to secure more than 40% of their electricity from renewables by 2030. 

Asia is also experiencing faster electricity demand growth than any other region, at about 5% per year. Half of the electricity demand rise in Asia (50%) was met with clean electricity in the seven years from 2016 to 2023 – almost double the 26% achieved from 2008 to 2015. This is significant since 90% of the global electricity demand rise from 2016 to 2023 happened in Asia.

Rising electricity demand makes it challenging for fast-growing Asian economies to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. What happens in Asia will, without a doubt, determine whether the world can limit global heating to 1.5C.

Last updated: May 2024