A new research brief underscores that rapid expansion of renewable electricity and electrification of energy end users are essential, not only to achieve climate mitigation targets but also to boost energy security and economic development across Southeast Asia.   

Bangkok/Berlin, June 10 – Southeast Asia’s pathway towards net-zero emissions is a matter of energy security. Proper energy system planning should give priority to a transition towards renewable sources and electrification of end-use sectors as key strategies for achieving both energy security and climate-mitigation goals, a new research brief suggests.    

Focusing on Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam and the Philippines – four countries that are part of the project “Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia” (CASE) – the brief analyses net-zero pathways under two different decarbonisation scenarios – one centred on reducing fossil fuel use through the deep electrification of energy demand, and the other achieving these reductions through the use of renewable gases such as hydrogen.   

Both scenarios require drastic shifts in the countries’ approaches to planning the transition away from fossil fuels. In either case, rapidly scaling up renewable electricity deployment and better integrating end-users and suppliers of energy will be paramount to reducing fossil fuel use at rates consistent with national climate mitigation targets.

Southeast Asia’s current energy transition pathways still include plans to expand fossil fuel infrastructure significantly to meet the expected surge in energy demand. The plans of Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand and the Philippines add particularly more gas-fired power generation over the next decade than necessary in both of our scenarios.  

Rapidly scaling up renewable infrastructure and electrifying energy demand wherever possible allows for substantially more long-term economic security.  This is especially given the fact that renewables, particularly solar power, have become the most affordable source of electricity generation in the region. Further investment in fossil infrastructure would expose the countries to risks of price volatility, increased import dependency, and carbon lock-in, the research brief notes.

“Despite currently being a net-energy exporter, the region’s fossil fuel resources are rapidly depleting. Countries can benefit from redefining their approach to energy security from merely securing sufficient energy resources, to creating a flexible and resilient energy system with a long-term vision”, said Hanna Fekete from NewClimate Institute.  

The electrification of energy end-use, such as switching to electric vehicles or heat pumps in industrial processes is another key action that brings multiple benefits across the system. Using renewable electricity directly to replace fossil fuels has inherent energy efficiency benefits and reduces the energy needs of the overall system. Hydrogen will remain expensive to supply, store and transport, and so should be reserved to decarbonise sectors where electrification is less viable, such as in steel production.   

In any case, energy transition pathways to net-zero will require significant investment in developing grid and electricity storage infrastructures. These are key to ensuring a reliable and affordable energy supply for Southeast Asian countries, thus enhancing the region’s energy security, according to the brief.   

“Shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy reduces costs and emissions while increasing energy independence. To make the transition a success, an urgent task across Southeast Asia is to strengthen key infrastructure such as grids and electricity storage.” Dimitri Pescia, Southeast and East Asia Director, Agora Energiewende.