Back to black: facing energy shock, Asia turns to coal
By AFP
March 24, 2026
Asian countries are turning to coal to meet their energy needs as the Middle East war hits oil and gas shipments - Copyright AFP BAY ISMOYO
Sara HUSSEIN
Asian countries are ramping up use of polluting coal to tackle energy shortages and price spikes linked to the Iran war, but the crisis could have an environmental silver lining.
While leaning on the fossil fuel will raise emissions in the near term, the energy crisis is demonstrating the risks of energy import dependence, and could push policymakers to embrace renewables faster, analysts told AFP.
“The ongoing Iran oil and gas crisis shows the importance of having domestic energy sources that are not exposed to the global commodity market, which coal is,” said Amy Kong, research analyst at Zero Carbon Analytics.
“Countries like Vietnam who have rapidly increased their share of solar generation, have a stronger buffer against rising energy import prices,” Kong said.
Much of Asia is heavily exposed to the energy crisis that has unfolded since the US-Israel attack on Iran began last month.
More than 80 percent of the crude oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) that passes through the Strait of Hormuz heads to Asia, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are all major importers of LNG from Qatar, which said last week that its export capacity had been slashed by 17 percent because of Iranian attacks.
It warned it would be forced to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts, signalling it may be unable to fulfill the agreements.
– Higher prices –
Compounding the problem, most Asian countries do not have underground gas storage, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, leaving them especially vulnerable to price spikes.
As a result, many nations are bumping up use of coal, which can be sourced regionally or even domestically, to prevent power outages and protect citizens from severe price shocks.
While it cannot be substituted directly in LNG plants, countries can run existing coal power plants at a higher capacity or bring idle units back online.
The shift has come in wealthy and developing economies alike.
In South Korea, a cap on how much power can be generated from coal has been lifted, while Thailand is preparing to resume operations at two coal power units decommissioned last year.
In India, already highly dependent on coal for electricity generation, the fuel is now being substituted for cooking gas.
And in the Philippines, energy secretary Sharon Garin told AFP authorities “plan to ramp up cheaper coal, (domestic) natural gas, and renewables”.
The increase in demand has pushed coal prices higher and even sparked talk of a windfall tax in coal-producing Indonesia, which reversed a decision taken last year to reduce production.
The shift is bad news for the environment in the short term. Coal is a top contributor to planet-warming greenhouse gases, and also a powerful air pollutant that is harmful for human health.
– ‘Transition fuel’ –
The shift will “impose substantial environmental and public health costs,” said Dinita Setyawati, senior energy analyst for Asia at think tank Ember.
Asia’s vulnerability is due in part to its heavy reliance on LNG, often promoted as a “transition fuel” — a less polluting option than coal that can “bridge the gap” as countries move towards renewable energy.
Upfront costs for LNG plants can be lower than for renewables that may require grid upgrades.
But renewables are now cheaper in the long run, and the current crisis is illustrating their benefits in terms of stable supply, said Putra Adhiguna, managing director at Energy Shift Institute, an energy finance think tank.
“The story of gas as a stable transition fuel is highly in question,” he said.
And while temporary increases in coal capacity are an attractive stopgap, the banking sector is reluctant to finance construction of new coal projects, concerned about stranded assets as nations are forced to phase down fossil fuels to meet their climate obligations.
That could help refocus policymakers’ attention on the benefits of renewables, said Adhiguna.
“I think we already see a bit of that coming from Southeast Asian countries,” he said.
“There have been all these debates about how we can’t afford to spend the money (on renewables) upfront, but I think this security of supply issue is going to override that.”
By AFP
March 24, 2026
Asian countries are turning to coal to meet their energy needs as the Middle East war hits oil and gas shipments - Copyright AFP BAY ISMOYO
Sara HUSSEIN
Asian countries are ramping up use of polluting coal to tackle energy shortages and price spikes linked to the Iran war, but the crisis could have an environmental silver lining.
While leaning on the fossil fuel will raise emissions in the near term, the energy crisis is demonstrating the risks of energy import dependence, and could push policymakers to embrace renewables faster, analysts told AFP.
“The ongoing Iran oil and gas crisis shows the importance of having domestic energy sources that are not exposed to the global commodity market, which coal is,” said Amy Kong, research analyst at Zero Carbon Analytics.
“Countries like Vietnam who have rapidly increased their share of solar generation, have a stronger buffer against rising energy import prices,” Kong said.
Much of Asia is heavily exposed to the energy crisis that has unfolded since the US-Israel attack on Iran began last month.
More than 80 percent of the crude oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) that passes through the Strait of Hormuz heads to Asia, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are all major importers of LNG from Qatar, which said last week that its export capacity had been slashed by 17 percent because of Iranian attacks.
It warned it would be forced to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts, signalling it may be unable to fulfill the agreements.
– Higher prices –
Compounding the problem, most Asian countries do not have underground gas storage, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, leaving them especially vulnerable to price spikes.
As a result, many nations are bumping up use of coal, which can be sourced regionally or even domestically, to prevent power outages and protect citizens from severe price shocks.
While it cannot be substituted directly in LNG plants, countries can run existing coal power plants at a higher capacity or bring idle units back online.
The shift has come in wealthy and developing economies alike.
In South Korea, a cap on how much power can be generated from coal has been lifted, while Thailand is preparing to resume operations at two coal power units decommissioned last year.
In India, already highly dependent on coal for electricity generation, the fuel is now being substituted for cooking gas.
And in the Philippines, energy secretary Sharon Garin told AFP authorities “plan to ramp up cheaper coal, (domestic) natural gas, and renewables”.
The increase in demand has pushed coal prices higher and even sparked talk of a windfall tax in coal-producing Indonesia, which reversed a decision taken last year to reduce production.
The shift is bad news for the environment in the short term. Coal is a top contributor to planet-warming greenhouse gases, and also a powerful air pollutant that is harmful for human health.
– ‘Transition fuel’ –
The shift will “impose substantial environmental and public health costs,” said Dinita Setyawati, senior energy analyst for Asia at think tank Ember.
Asia’s vulnerability is due in part to its heavy reliance on LNG, often promoted as a “transition fuel” — a less polluting option than coal that can “bridge the gap” as countries move towards renewable energy.
Upfront costs for LNG plants can be lower than for renewables that may require grid upgrades.
But renewables are now cheaper in the long run, and the current crisis is illustrating their benefits in terms of stable supply, said Putra Adhiguna, managing director at Energy Shift Institute, an energy finance think tank.
“The story of gas as a stable transition fuel is highly in question,” he said.
And while temporary increases in coal capacity are an attractive stopgap, the banking sector is reluctant to finance construction of new coal projects, concerned about stranded assets as nations are forced to phase down fossil fuels to meet their climate obligations.
That could help refocus policymakers’ attention on the benefits of renewables, said Adhiguna.
“I think we already see a bit of that coming from Southeast Asian countries,” he said.
“There have been all these debates about how we can’t afford to spend the money (on renewables) upfront, but I think this security of supply issue is going to override that.”
By AFP
March 24, 2026
Soaring black market prices of cooking gas in India's capital are pushing poorer families back to wood and coal - Copyright AFP Arun SANKAR
Uzmi ATHAR
Soaring black-market prices of cooking gas in India’s capital are pushing poorer families back to wood and coal, raising health risks and worsening air quality in the highly polluted megacity.
India is the world’s second-largest buyer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is used for cooking and predominantly sourced from the Middle East — and supplies have been strangled by the ongoing war.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged states to curb black marketing and avoid panic, stressing that India’s energy supplies remain stable.
In the low-income Madanpur Khadar neighbourhood, 36-year-old domestic helper Sheela Kumari says she has been forced to abandon LPG cooking gas cylinders for cooking after prices more than doubled.
“We used to buy cylinders for 1,800–2,000 rupees ($19-$21), but now on the black market it has gone up to 5,000 ($53),” she told AFP, nearly as much as she entire monthly salary of 6,000 rupees.
“It is unimaginable for us,” she said. “The next best option for us was going back to wood and coal.”
Kumari said a 14 kilogramme cylinder lasts only 15–20 days for her family of six, even when they stretch its use out.
But she says a 10 kilogramme bundle of firewood, lasting several days, costs 30 rupees ($0.30).
“There are health repercussions, and my children cough,” she said. “But tell me a way out?”
– ‘Too expensive’ –
Her neighbour, 45-year-old Munni Bai, who has asthma, had switched to using an electric cooker as well as biogas from cow dung, to help her breathing.
But now she said she was being forced to resume use of alternative fuels.
“Gas is too expensive,” she said. “We cannot depend on it — we moved from coal and wood, due to my health issue, but now it is difficult to sustain.”
But activists say the problem is more about access.
Many migrant workers lack documentation needed for subsidised LPG and rely on informal markets, where hoarding has pushed up prices.
“There is no major shortage yet, but hoarding has increased,” said Deepak, who uses only one name, from the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR).
“Many migrants depend on black-market cylinders, and prices have gone up two to three times”.
New Delhi, and its wider sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents, is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted capitals, due to a deadly mix of emissions from power plants, heavy traffic, as well as the burning of rubbish and crops.
For the past decades, India’s government has pushed its “Ujjwala” or “light” clean-energy scheme, to provide over 100 million LPG connections to poor households.
Burning wood, coal and biomass indoors exposes families to high levels of smoke and toxic particles, increasing the risk of respiratory illnesses.
Women and children, who spend more time near cooking areas, are especially vulnerable.
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