06 foreign news
@ green | November-December , 2020
Asean CENTRE FOR ENERGY
Accelerating energy transition
Strengthening energy resilience through greater innovation and cooperation
The 38th Asean Ministers of Energy Meeting ( AMEM ) which was hosted by Vietnam virtually on November 17 endorsed the Asean Plan of Action and Energy Cooperation ( APAEC ) Phase II : 2021-2025 .
Introduced in 1998 , the APAEC is a series of guiding policy documents that aim to promote multilateral energy cooperation and facilitate deeper cooperation both within Asean as well as with Dialogue Partners , and International Organisations .
It supports the Asean Economic Community ( AEC ) goals which is to achieve a highly integrated , cohesive , competitive , innovative and dynamic Asean .
Building on the good achievements in the implementation of APAEC Phase I : 2016- 2020 , the new APAEC Phase II : 2021-2025 sets out more ambitious targets and strategic initiatives which the Asean Member States agreed to pursue in the next five years to bring more economic growth and to create pathways towards prosperity .
The theme of the Phase II is “ Enhancing Energy Connectivity and Market Integration in Asean to Achieve Energy Security , Accessibility , Affordability and Sustainability for All ” with a new sub-theme of “ Accelerating Energy Transition and Strengthening Energy Resilience through Greater Innovation and Cooperation ”.
The APAEC Phase II was developed by the APAEC Drafting Committee ( ADC ) which is chaired by Singapore and co-chaired by Vietnam with strong support from the Asean Member States , specialised energy bodies , sub-sector networks , Asean Secretariat and Asean Centre for Energy .
The development of APAEC Phase II considered the global energy trends such as the energy transition , global economic growth , impacts of COVID-19 , the United Nation ’ s Sustainable Development Goals No . 7 ( SDG7 ) and the 4th Industrial Revolution .
“ The APAEC Phase II lays out the key strategies to shape regional energy landscape by addressing energy challenges , and seize opportunities in building up responsive and cohesive energy pathways for Asean ,” said The Prime Minister of Vietnam , Nguyễn Xuân Phúc .
He also expressed that the APAEC Phase II would usher in the deployment of clean energy systems and technologies towards energy security and environmental sustainability .
The ADC Chair from Singapore , Jonathan Goh , was confident the new APAEC Phase II would pave the way for greater regional integration and connectivity , more deployment of renewable energy technologies to achieve the 23 per cent share of RE in total primary energy supply ( TPES ) and 35 per cent share in Asean ’ s installed power capacity by 2025 , and more efforts to promote energy efficiency and conservation to achieve the aspirational target of 32 per cent in energy intensity reduction based on 2005 level .
The APAEC Phase II will continue to advance Asean energy cooperation through seven programme areas namely :
• Asean Power Grid ,
• Trans-Asean Gas Pipeline ,
• Coal and Clean Coal Technology ,
• energy Efficiency and Conservation ,
• Renewable Energy ,
• Regional Energy Policy and Planning and ,
• Civilian Nuclear Energy . Greater efforts will be taken to promote various technologies such as hydrogen , battery and energy storage , carbon capture utilisation and storage , solar PV , bioenergy , waste to energy , smart energy system and electrified vehicles .
The Asean member States will continue to promote multilateral electricity trading , development of a common gas market , clean coal technology and digitalisation in the energy sector .
According to Dr Nuki Agya Utama , the Executive Director of Asean Centre for Energy , the regional cooperation and engagement with dialogue partners , international organisations , private sector and academe , are the key success factors of APAEC Phase II .
Particularly , he emphasised the APAEC Phase II would attract investments in the energy sector in the coming five years and expected to enhance greater participation of private sector .
As mentioned in the 6th Asean Energy Outlook , which was also endorsed by the 38th AMEM , that the financial requirement to achieve the regional targets is calculated at USD508 billion from 2018 to 2040 . — @ green
Asean and Germany to strengthen partnership for sustainable energy
The Executive Director of the Asean Centre for Energy ( ACE ), Dr Nuki Agya Utama , and the Prime Minister of Vietnam , Hon . Nguyen Xuan Phuc launched the 6th Asean Energy Outlook ( AEO6 ), the region ’ s primary official source of energy information , analysis , and projections .
Covering from national , regional , and global perspectives , this publication highlights deep and cohesive insights about the energy landscape and supply and consumption trends . It also underlines impacts on socio- economic development and the environment and efforts to enhance energy connectivity and market integration in the region to achieve energy security , accessibility , affordability , and sustainability for all .
“ The 6th Asean energy outlook will provide us with an overview of the current energy landscape with some possible scenarios for policymakers and other stakeholders ,” said Nuki .
“ It also contains energy perspectives by 2040 and its pathways for the region to be more resilient , to enable energy affordability and sustainability .
“ It presents comparative scenarios versus baseline , current energy planning , more implementation on RE and EE targets , as well as the implementation of SDG7 .”
Prior to the 38th Asean Ministers on Energy Meeting ( AMEM ) presentation session on Charting Asean ’ s Pathways Collectively – APAEC Phase 2 and AEO6 , Dr Guido Hildner , the Ambassador of Germany to Vietnam said : “ The access to energy , its security , and affordability and at the same time the need for clean energy are key to the sustainable economic development of the Asean region .
“ Secure and sustainable energy is a German priority both in our bilateral and in our regional partnerships with Asean and its member States .”
Asean and Germany have been together for more than a decade to advocate sustainable energy across the Asean region .
Since 2015 , in cooperation with all Asean member States ( AMS ) representatives , the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit ( GIZ ) GmbH , on behalf of Germany , has been supporting the development of the Asean Energy Outlooks .
Notwithstanding this year ’ s challenge on the Covid-19 pandemic , Asean and Germany confirm the pivotal importance of strong cooperation and collaborative efforts , not only to meet the energy needs of its growing economy and population from now until 2040 but also to achieve its aspirational regional target as well as a global commitment under SDG 7 .
“ Our key regional cooperation in the energy field is Asean- German Energy Programme , where we support ACE , acting as a knowledge hub , think tank and catalyst for member States as ACE ’ s longstanding partner supporting the development of the last three editions of AEO since 2015 , GIZ is delighted to launch of the AEO6 this week ,” said Sergey Makarov , the GIZ Asean- German Energy Programme ’ s Principal Advisor and Asean Cluster Coordinator .
“ We want to thank ACE and look forward to continuing the long and fruitful partnership for many more years .”
The finalisation and launch of AEO6 have been made possible with the support of the Asean Climate Change and Energy Project ( ACCEPT ) and the Stockholm Environment Institute ( SEI ).
The launch was held at the joint opening ceremony of the 38th AMEM and the 2020 Asean Energy Business Forum ( AEBF ) hosted by Vietnam and organised by ACE .
It sees the participation of notable representatives from AMS Energy Ministries , Asean Secretariat , and international organisations .
As the first development partner of Asean , Germany is very pleased and committed to engage in this forum and help advocate sustainable energy in the region .