Science Talk: The Key to Collaboration for Southeast Asia to Unleash the Benefits of the Global Goal to Triple Renewable Energy

Positive changes are being seen towards a clean energy future.

Commitments have been made and progress is being made: an unprecedented 473 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy will be added worldwide in 2023, a 14 percent increase and the largest annual growth ever.

However, as the finish line approaches, this achievement still leaves a huge gap.

An average annual capacity increase of 1,044 GW is needed between now and 2030 to meet the global target of tripling renewable energy capacity from 3,870 GW in 2023 to at least 11,000 GW by the end of the decade.

Such a tripling of renewable energy capacity was recorded at the results of the UN climate conference COP28 in Dubai in December 2023.

Structural barriers remain, and we need strong political will to overcome them.

ASEAN members already collectively aim to meet 35 percent of their electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2025.

There is no doubt that tripling renewable energy is technically feasible and economically viable. ASEAN could even reach a 47 percent share of renewable energy capacity by 2025, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (Irena) 1.5 degree Celsius scenario.

But despite their significant renewable energy potential, ASEAN members contributed about 105 GW to the global renewable energy capacity of 3,865 GW as of 2023.

To ensure that the remaining six years see accelerated growth in ASEAN’s renewable energy potential, the region needs to strengthen the key drivers of a renewable energy-dominated system and overcome existing barriers.

Irena identified regional grid interconnection as a driver of decarbonization and energy transition in the region. It is estimated that an integrated approach to regional grid expansion could increase ASEAN’s total renewable energy capacity to 3,400 GW by 2050.

This is why the ASEAN Energy Network, which aims to connect neighboring countries and facilitate cross-border trade in renewable energy, should be the focus of expanding and upgrading the infrastructure of Southeast Asian countries.

But aging infrastructure and inefficient power systems that are not suitable for high integration of variable renewable energy sources (VRE) are among the obstacles to its development. Policymakers can use regulatory incentives to attract both domestic and foreign players to participate in projects that are critical to or complementary to the ASEAN power grid.

The second existing barrier relates to the administrative aspects of the policy. For example, bureaucratic red tape needs to be reduced by creating a central authority to oversee the issuance of permits.

Moreover, Southeast Asia’s renewable energy ambitions require a workforce with skills suited to a green energy future. This is the third barrier that the region needs to remove.