Back in June and November of 2020, leaders gathered at the ASEAN Summit to reaffirm a strong commitment in propelling the advancement of gender equality and women empowerment.
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic shocked the world in the first quarter of 2020 with no clear end in sight. Severe impact on the economy globally as well as in ASEAN was inevitable. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the ASEAN region is projected to decline by 2.7 percent in 2020, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Energy transition and decarbonisation are becoming increasingly critical to addressing the ever-growing concerns of climate change. In spearheading decarbonisation efforts, we must pay special attention to the development of hydrogen. Hydrogen is more than just another option that we can add to the long list of clean technology as it can provide an energy supply which is uniquely flexible.
During the recent Jakarta Car Free Day on 28 July, Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ignasius Jonan, led a campaign called the National Movement of A Million Solar Roofs (Gerakan Nasional Sejuta Solar Atap) to promote the country’s solar rooftop utilisation.The campaign is an effort to bolster solar installation as listed in Indonesia’s National Energy Plan (RUEN), which targets solar photovoltaic (PV) installation of 6.5 gigawatt (GW) by 2025 and 45 GW by 2050.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have forged a new partnership which aims to scale up renewable energy deployment in the region and advance the transition towards an energy sustainable future. A memorandum was signed on the side-lines of the 36th ASEAN Ministers on Energy (AMEM) and the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) on 30 October, 2018.
Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) schemes are widely acknowledged as one of the most effective ways of renewable energy (RE) procurement globally. Within member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it is still relatively nascent as a primary renewable energy incentive with most countries preferring to offer tax breaks instead.
Estimates by the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA) and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) indicate that US$290 billion of total investment in renewable energy capacity will be necessary to attain the regional aspirational target of 23 percent primary energy from renewable energy by 2025. Hence, renewable energy investment would need to be substantially scaled up to an estimated US$27 billion annually.
As ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) celebrates its 50th anniversary, the region has witnessed immense growth in terms of its economy and human population which has contributed to the rising demand for energy. In recent years, the ACE (ASEAN Centre for Energy) has been working on promoting the use of renewable energy throughout the region.
