The Rockefeller Foundation has announced plans to enrol 60 coal plant retirement projects in developing countries into its new carbon finance mechanism by 2030, following the formal approval of its methodology for generating credits from early coal phase-outs.
The initiative, known as the Coal to Clean Credits Initiative (CCCI), aims to accelerate the transition from coal to renewable energy by offering carbon credits for shutting down coal-fired power plants ahead of schedule. The Foundation estimates that the target portfolio could unlock as much as $110 billion in public and private capital over the next five years.
“There are about 1,000 eligible coal-fired plants in developing countries under our methodology,” said Joseph Curtin, Director of the Foundation’s Coal to Clean programme. “Our goal of 60 projects by 2030 reflects the urgency and scale needed to drive meaningful change.”
The move follows the launch of CCCI’s official rulebook by Verra, a leading carbon standards body, in Singapore on Tuesday. The methodology sets criteria for project eligibility and provides a framework to calculate emissions reductions from early plant closures, allowing these projects to generate high-integrity carbon credits.
The first plant to utilise the new framework will be the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) facility in the Philippines, backed by local energy firm ACEN, Singapore’s GenZero, Japan’s Mitsubishi, infrastructure group Keppel, and Diamond Generating Asia. The transaction is expected to conclude in 2026.
Revenue from the carbon credits will be used to offset foregone revenues from the plant’s early closure, fund renewable energy storage systems, and support affected workers and local communities.
The initiative comes as momentum builds to phase out coal globally, with the International Energy Agency warning that roughly 2,000 coal plants must be retired by 2040 to meet international climate targets. Currently, just 15% are covered by decommissioning pledges.
While the use of carbon finance to fund coal retirements has attracted scepticism from environmental watchdogs, CCCI’s methodology includes safeguards to avoid misuse. Eligible projects must be both profitable and owned by entities with firm commitments not to build new coal plants.
Jonathan Crook of Carbon Market Watch cautioned against the risk of subsidising stranded assets. “The challenge is ensuring finance isn’t used to bail out projects that were already unviable,” he said.
Acknowledging concerns around optics, ACEN CEO Eric Francia said, “Of course we need to manage the perception, which is admittedly not good, but we look at the substance. The early retirement of SLTEC is a genuine contribution to the energy transition.”
