Southeast Asia’s impressive economic growth has created enormous opportunities and challenges. People in the region have benefitted from raised income and substantial poverty reduction but they have also been increasingly exposed to natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, to higher levels of air pollution and hazardous emissions generated by the use of fossil fuels for energy production.
Energy demand is forecasted to grow by an average of 4.7% per year until 2035 across the region. This increase, together with the falling cost of clean energy, provides an opportunity to transition the economy to clean energy resources. The alternative is business as usual: fossil fuel-based power generation leading to higher levels of carbon emissions and a consequent worsening of the climate emergency, health, well-being, and productivity of people in the region.
The next few years will be a critical window for reducing carbon emissions and deliver on the Paris Agreement. Latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) report emphasizes that greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) need to reduce by half by 2030 if global warming is to be limited to safe levels by 2050 and Southeast Asia is critical to the success of the international community to achieve this objective.
An energy transition driven by renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable infrastructures will help partner countries meet their climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. At the same time, it will open up new opportunities for investment, growth and jobs and help countries meet their sustainable development goals.
The Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) will mobilise Government Donors and Philanthropies’ technical and financial resources to empower partner countries to face these challenges and benefit from transitioning toward a cleaner energy system.