Power Sector Implementation of a Country Coal-to-Clean Transition

The past few years have seen significant momentum for the coal-to-clean transition with several emissions, coal phaseout, and financing commitments. Major coal-dependent countries, including South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam, have agreed to Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) that aim to transform and decarbonize multiple sectors of their economies.

However, the hard work to design and implement this transition now begins — a monumental task that must balance supporting ambitious climate action with robust economic growth. And thus, the speed and success of such a multi-faceted transition will rest on balancing and achieving several outcomes together.

Five key outcomes critical to the success of the coal-to-clean transition

We need an integrated approach — one that considers grid operations, aligns with economic opportunity, and includes enabling policies, transition financing, and strong execution.

Importance of an integrated approach to implementing coal-to-clean transitions

Such an approach raises a set of key questions that need to be answered along the road to implementation, some that are better understood than others. RMI indicates which questions are well-understood and which are less so, thus identifying where knowledge sharing will help drive the transition and where further research and analysis are needed.

The briefs lay out how these various questions interconnect and share an integrated roadmap to address them collectively.

Integrated roadmap for country coal-to-clean transition, involving planning and implementation at the system and plant level.

Process to integrate system planning and learnings from pilots and build the bridge to broader capital mobilization.