Insurer Prudential and lenders Asian Development Bank (ADB), Citi, and HSBC plan to speed up the closing of coal-fired power plants in Asia by buying and closing them within 15 years - much shorter than a plant’s average lifetime of 46 years. Led by the ADB, they plan to present a model at the COP26 to buy out coal plants for early closures, as an attempt to speed up the transition to zero emissions. It will also help turn costs into savings for customers and utilities.

To make it happen, governments are looking to provide public funding to seed new funds or investment vehicles. How to ensure the coal plant buy outs will benefit the public and not the big banks?