Green Technological Development and Deployment in the Association of Southeast Asian Economies (ASEAN)—At Crossroads or Roundabout?

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.

The role of trade liberalization in promoting regional integration and sustainability: The case of regional comprehensive economic partnership

“…Australia’s accession to RCEP aims to establish a more complete and convenient multilateral trading system and concurrently sign a free trade agreement with India. However, India’s withdrawal made Australia’s plan to no avail, allowing Australia to expand its free trade with other intra-regional countries (e.g., References [ 102 ]).…”

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“…Increases of 1% in the following components result in increases of 2.247 percent, 1.487 percent, 1.021 percent, and 0.134 percent in carbon emissions, respectively. On the other hand, total methane emissions significantly reduce carbon emissions as a result of the Asian economies' adoption of several greening policies, including the use of renewable energy in manufacturing processes [87], cleaner manufacturing technologies [88,89], and climate financing [90]. The diagnostic statistics in Table 10 reveal that the model has not multicollinearity since each regressors' variance inflation factor (VIF) value is less than the threshold value of 10.…”

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“…In Southeast Asia alone, an estimated $1.5 billion in infrastructure investment is needed annually to adapt to climate change. Closing this gap is crucial for private-sector financing, given a funding gap estimated at $102 billion per year for selected Southeast Asian countries (Nepal et al, 2021).…”