Australian thermal coal exporters have enjoyed rapidly growing exports to developing Asian countries in recent years, but a new report showing demand for new coal-fired power stations is rapidly fading suggests future growth may not be as strong.

Policy changes flagged by politicians and government departments in Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, and a full moratorium on new coal plants in the Philippines, may result in just 25 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-power projects getting built this year.

That is an 80 per cent reduction from the 125GW planned five years ago, according to a report from the Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a not-for-profit organisation funded by philanthropic organisations such as the US based Ford Foundation, the German Corporation for International Coopeeration and the European Climate Fund.

These countries are increasingly seen as the growth markets for Australian thermal coal exporters as traditional customers like Japan, South Korea and China have pledged to wind down reliance on coal to hit net zero emissions by mid-century.

Since 2010, Australian coal exports to south-east Asia and south Asia have tripled to 151 million tonnes and that is expected to grow over the decade, the Commonwealth Department of Industry revealed in its latest quarterly report.

Guest post from Financial Review