Asia’s Gas Lock-In

The report analyzes the planned expansion of gas infrastructure in Asia, including power plants, pipelines, and LNG terminals, totaling $379 billion. It argues that this expansion risks locking in high greenhouse gas emissions, potentially consuming a quarter of the global carbon budget for a 1.5°C limit. The document highlights that falling costs of renewable energy and high price volatility of LNG make these gas investments economically risky and likely to become stranded assets. It further criticizes the continued support of public financial institutions for gas projects and advocates for a transition to clean energy portfolios.

• Asia has planned gas infrastructure investments totaling $379 billion, comprising $189 billion for gas-fired power plants, $54 billion for pipelines, and $136 billion for LNG import/export terminals.
• The proposed expansion of gas-fired power plants in Asia totals 320 GW, which would nearly double the region's existing gas power capacity and increase global gas power capacity by one-fifth.
• Asia is the primary driver of the global LNG market, with new LNG import terminal capacity of 452 million tonnes per year, representing 70% of the world's developing capacity.
• The full operation of proposed LNG terminals and pipelines in Asia could release 117 giga tonnes of CO2 equivalent (Gt CO2-eq) over their lifespan, which is approximately one-quarter of the global carbon budget required to limit warming to 1.5°C.
• Gas infrastructure investments face significant economic risks of becoming stranded assets due to the rapidly declining costs of renewable energy and the volatility of LNG prices.
• Public financial institutions have provided substantial funding for Asian gas projects, with $22.4 billion provided between 2014 and 2018, led by the Export-Import Bank of China, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• Renewable energy is presented as a more cost-effective and reliable alternative to gas, with utility-scale solar being the cheapest power source in China and India.
• China is the largest planned investor in gas infrastructure in the region, with $131 billion in planned investments.
• Vietnam has significant proposed investments in gas infrastructure, though less than 1% of these planned investments have reached the construction phase.

APA

Rozansky, R. (2021). Asia’s Gas Lock-In. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-Asia-Gas-Report-October-2021_Vietnamese_11.pdf

Chicago

Rozansky, Robert. Asia’s Gas Lock-In. Global Energy Monitor, 2021. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-Asia-Gas-Report-October-2021_Vietnamese_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{rozansky2021asias, author = {Rozansky, Robert}, title = {{Asia’s Gas Lock-In}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM-Asia-Gas-Report-October-2021_Vietnamese_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }