ACEN partners with Rockefeller Foundation, MAS to push ‘coal-to-clean’ project

By Meg J. Adonis

@MegINQ Ayala-led ACEN Corp. has partnered with an international philanthropic foundation and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a “coal-to-clean” pilot project that aims to accelerate renewable energy development through the early retirement of coal-fired power plants.

ACEN president and chief executive Eric Francia announced the partnership with MAS and The Rockefeller Foundation’s Coal to Clean Credit Initiative during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai on Monday, saying that a “proactively managed” transition away from coal was critical in keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Under the initiative, the three parties seek to develop the world’s first transition credit, a new class of carbon credits that will provide an incentive for owners of coal-fired power plants by retiring these early to make way for renewable energy development.

This will also help mobilize additional finance for renewable energy facilities.

“[The] development marks a critical contribution to accelerating a global energy transition. Without a rapid and proactively managed transition away from coal-fired power, the world will not meet its climate goals; the urgency of solving this problem cannot be understated,” Francia said.

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The partnership is also meant to complement MAS’ newly launched Transition Credits Coalition (Traction) that will test the use of transition credits. Traction currently has around 30 members “across key stakeholder groups,” according to MAS.

In November 2022, ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala group, completed divesting its stake in the 246-megawatt South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. coal plant. INQ