REPORT
INGENIEUR
REPORT
INGENIEUR
ASEAN PLAN OF ACTION FOR ENERGY CO-OPERATION 2016 – 2025
By Lim Tau Wee
When Malaysia hosted the ASEAN Summit in 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, the issue of connectivity was deliberated in depth for all areas and, in particular, for the infrastructure aspects involving highways, railways and ports, among others. Connected with this, the initiative towards co-operation on energy connectivity among ASEAN nations will be one step closer to the realization of the ASEAN Power Grid. The ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation( APAEC) kicked off this year coinciding with the official formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2016. APAEC is the product of collaborative work by all ASEAN Member States, the different sub-sector networks and specialised energy bodies together with the ASEAN Centre For Energy( ACE). It provides comprehensive documentation and details of action plans for the implementation of the APAEC.
Energy is key to the realisation of the ASEAN Economic Community( AEC), which calls for a well-connected ASEAN to drive an integrated, competitive and resilient region.
ASEAN is now one of the most dynamic and fastest growing economic regions in the world, and through the implementation of the AEC at the end of December 2015, this growth is expected to continue. The region is projected to grow by at least 4 % per year on average over the next five years, but growth could be as high as 6 % provided ASEAN moves towards greater integration, where Member States continuously implement domestic structural reforms to raise their productivity and competitiveness under the framework of the AEC.
To fuel this growth, the demand for primary energy is expected to grow by an average of 4.7 % per year from 2013 to reach 1,685 Mtoe in 2035, according to the ASEAN Centre for Energy’ s( ACE) 4th ASEAN Energy Outlook( AEO4). Addressing this growing demand for energy, which is driven by both economic and demographic growth, has been a challenge for ASEAN ahead of the AEC.
Against this backdrop, the 32 nd ASEAN Ministers Energy Meeting( AMEM) held on September 23, 2014 in Vientiane, Lao PDR,
58 VOL 67 JULY-SEPTEMBER 2016