The Asia Climate Finance Podcast
Ep90 Renewable Energy Works, So Why Isn't Asia Doing It? with Chan Yau Chong, Climate Finance Asia
Aug 04, 2026
Episode 90
Joseph Jacobelli
Comments/ideas: ACFpod@outlook.com
Chan Yau Chong, leading thought-leader and co-founder of Climate Finance Asia, reveals why Hong Kong's solar revolution hasn't scaled and exposes the uncomfortable truth about Asian investors' grip on coal. We unpack the real barriers to Asia's energy transition: from fiduciary duty rhetoric masking climate inaction to the policy gaps holding back coal phase-out across Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Discover how climate finance can accelerate the shift from coal to renewables when institutions finally align investment with genuine impact.
REF.: Climate Finance Asia insights and reports.
ABOUT CHAN YAU: Chan Yau co-founded the CarbonCare Innolab (CCIL) in 2014 and is now the Board Advisor. Prior to overseeing CCIL, he served in the Hong Kong Government. He became an Executive Director of Oxfam Hong Kong and a member of the Board of Directors of Oxfam International. Thereafter, he joined the University of Hong Kong as the Director of Student Development for its Centre for Development and Resources for Students. He is the ex-President of the Hong Kong Blind Union and was a member of the Education and Publicity Subcommittee of the Council for Sustainable Development, an advisory committee to the Hong Kong SAR Government on sustainability issues. He was appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1995 for his outstanding service to the Hong Kong civil society and received the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award in 1991. He was also named one of the “Leaders of 2011” by Sing Tao Publishing and an Honorary Fellow by the University of Hong Kong.
Recomendations:
[Policy Brief May 2026] Accelerating Coal-Fired Power Plant Retirement in Indonesia: From Policy Commitment to Executable Pathways: A Climate Finance Asia policy brief examining Indonesia's pathway to retiring coal-fired power plants, bridging the gap between government commitments and practical, financially feasible transition strategies.
HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep76 onward excerpts from Vivaldi’s La Follia, played by Luca Jacobelli.
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