Philippines overtakes China and Indonesia to be most dependent on coal-generated power

The Philippines' dependency on coal-fired power surged 62% last year, overtaking China, Indonesia and Poland, according to London-based energy think-tank Ember.

The Philippines was also the most coal-dependent country in Southeast Asia in 2023, as adoption of renewable electricity generation remained low. The share of electricity generated from coal in the country climbed to 61.9% last year compared to 59.1% in 2022.

Overall, coal generation in the country also rose by 9.7%, higher than a 4.6% increase in electricity demand, the report said.

"Coal has played important roles in the Philippines' energy security. In the 1990s, many new coal power plants were being built to meet the growing electricity demand," Dinita Setyawati, senior electricity policy analyst for Southeast Asia at Ember Climate told CNBC.

"To date, dependency on these coal power plants continues."

Indonesia — the world's fifth largest coal producer — followed closely behind, with the share of power generated from coal hitting fresh highs of 61.8% in 2023.

"Indonesia and the Philippines are the two most coal dependent countries in Southeast Asia and their reliance on coal is growing fast," the report said, adding that the the Southeast Asian region saw a 2% uptick in coal reliance from 31% in 2022 to 33% last year.

China has made strides in reducing its reliance on the dirtiest fossil fuel for electricity generation, with demand standing at 60.7% in 2023 — lower than India at 75.2% and Poland at 61%, according to Ember.

The world's biggest coal producer, China has made notable progress in renewable energy development. As a result, there's been a slowdown in the rate of emission increase — from an average of 9% annually between 2001 and 2015, to 4.4% annually