Commentary

The utilities sector has an important role to play in our collective transition to clean energy – one that cannot be understated: by decarbonising the production of power, it enables other industries to decarbonise through electrification. Recognising this, utilities across Southeast Asia are embracing the energy transition, and making commitments to embark on this journey in earnest.

Persistent LNG price spikes, although a boon for exporters, may stunt long-term demand growth in Asia

Cross border power policy and infrastructural support are vital for its decarbonization plan.

Emissions-wary investors should mind the gap in the new three-tier taxonomy.

Global momentum is building to achieve net zero in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—and to do so more quickly than previously envisioned. Getting there will require unprecedented levels of innovation. Some estimates, such as the P4 pathway defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), show that today’s technologies have the potential to reduce global emissions by about two-thirds. More innovation-driven projections—such as IPCC’s low-energy demand pathway, P1—do not bank on any new technologies but instead assume radical business model and policy innovation.

Clean energy alternatives are a crucial hedge against future disruptions in global commodity markets

How can the world accelerate down a net zero pathway when some emissions can’t be abated by current technology? For some companies in hard-to-abate industries, carbon offsets can provide a practical pathway to carbon neutrality, at least while necessary abatement solutions are developed.

The next energy market disruptor, green hydrogen is moving at lightspeed and global investment, with strong policy support and replication of the solar learning curve, is adding to the momentum.

Regressing on what was a promising green taxonomy sends weak market signals to investors and loses competitive edge.

To being taken seriously, Australia needs a credible emissions reduction plan

By Lee Mather, Black & Veatch

Since its earliest infections started cropping up in Wuhan, China, December last year, the COVID-19 coronavirus has been expanding towards approximately 4 million confirmed cases globally. In ASEAN region, based on the data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the confirmed cases have reached almost 300,000 as of early August 2020, which dominantly occurred in Indonesia, Philippines, and Singapore. Most countries, including the ASEAN Member States, have enacted containment measures in order to control and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus particularly after it was officially announced as a pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020.

Energy demand across Asia is surging and expected to grow by two-thirds by 2040, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. At the same time, more than 65 million people mostly in Southeast Asia are without adequate or reliable access to electricity.

How will Southeast Asia’s electric utility market evolve as it emerges from the fall out and impact of COVID-19 on the global economy? Already facing what was predicted as moderate GDP growth rates and a slowdown in the growth of demand for electricity, the region could also be coping with increased pressure to lower electricity rates and sustained pressure to broaden the energy mix, transitioning to cleaner forms of generation.

Offshore wind has truly spread around the world in recent years, with Asian markets such as Japan taking a prominent role by rapidly developing their offshore capabilities. International investors and developers are starting to get involved in Japanese offshore wind, but to capitalize on opportunities in this growing market, they must show that they can work with domestic partners, leverage current Japanese partnerships from shared projects in other regions – in addition to demonstrating their experience.

Co-authored by Justine Barthe-Dejean, Reed Smith and Nguyen Thi Xuan Trinh, Partner, VNA Legal