Abstract
Southeast Asia faces one of the fastest growths in electricity demand in the world, driven by increasing incomes, urbanization and industrialization. Development and deployment of green energy technologies offer a natural conduit to meet the growing electricity needs of the Association of Southeast Asian Economies (ASEAN) region while also serving as a viable strategy to adapt to climate change. The aim of this study is to formulate the policy lessons for the ASEAN economies and governments in facilitating the development and deployment of green technologies and alternatives energy options based on a specific case review of the ASEAN. The ASEAN economic region is prioritizing sustainable economic growth while minimizing the regional impacts of climate change through decarbonization. The study undertakes a case-specific analysis in reviewing green energy deployment in the context of green growth and energy transition using secondary data sources and discusses the current status and future options of renewable energy development in the ASEAN. We find that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies will allow the ASEAN to continue to use fossil fuels while achieving sustainable economic growth as coal demand increases in the region. The deployment of CCS technologies will also act as an enabler of hydrogen energy as a green energy solution in the region in the longer term. Boosting public acceptance to nuclear energy, implementing energy efficiency improvement policies and eliminating fossil fuels consumption subsidies are feasible short-term and medium-term policies. Increasing both the public and private sector energy investments and development of CCS technologies in the longer term are necessary complementary policies to maximize the benefits of greater deployment of renewable energy sources in the region and combat climate change.
Highlights
Introduction nal affiliationsSustainable development is about achieving a more sustainable global future so that future societies face fewer challenges arising from resource scarcity and accumulating atmospheric pollutants
The study reviewed the literature around green energy deployment in the context of green growth and energy transition and discussed the current status of renewable energy development in the Association of Southeast Asian Economies (ASEAN)
Some of the underlying research questions that this study aimed to shed light on and expose as urgent areas of future research include: (i) Why is the deployment of renewable energy low in the ASEAN, and what frameworks are needed to better support their wider deployment of green technologies like wind and solar in Southeast Asia in the context of energy transition? (ii) What are the policy and institutional frameworks required to implement innovative green technologies such as carbon capture, utilization and storage in the region as demand for fossil fuels, in particular, coal escalates? (iii) What is the scope for energy efficiency improvements in the region within the context of the push towards greener technology development and deployment?
Summary
Sustainable development is about achieving a more sustainable global future so that future societies face fewer challenges arising from resource scarcity and accumulating atmospheric pollutants. Sustainable development is a powerful development concept as it integrates the economic, societal and environmental aspects and the interrelationships among the energy, environment and societal concerns. Developing sustainably ensures that the availability of critical resources such as energy, water and food is available to both present and future generations and emphasizes mitigating the scope of the environmental problems across both geographic and generational boundaries [1]. The transition towards sustainability is still at an early stage in developing economic regions while economies around the world have been struggling to balance their economic growth priorities without deteriorating the natural resources.
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