SouthEast Asia must boost energy efficiency amid growing reliance on fossil fuels: IEA

Southeast Asian countries must find energy efficient solutions as demand is set to grow by around 3 percent a year to 2030, raising the CO2 emissions to 35 percent from 2020 levels, said the International Energy Agency in a new report on Tuesday.

The agency said that three-quarters of that increased demand will be met by fossil fuels; adding that without a strong policy action, the region’s net oil import bill, which previously was US $50 billion in 2020, will increase quickly if today’s commodities prices live through.

“Southeast Asia is an emerging heavyweight of global energy, and the speed of its economic development makes it even more essential that the region’s governments hasten efforts to transition to sustainable energy and that they get the international support they need to do so,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a statement.

The agency said that the countries must make a total energy investment of up to US  $190 billion a year by 2030 to meet the climate goals they have set. This is an increase from the US $70 billion a year between 2016 and 2020. 

“ASEAN members could reduce financing costs and attract private investors by signalling their clear commitment to deploy low-carbon energy and by improving regulatory and financing frameworks,” said the agency in a statement,

The report discussed the states of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

These countries have previously announced ambitious goals to reach carbon neutrality and halt the reliance on coal-fired power.