Southeast Asia needs to speed up energy transition: IRENA

Southeast Asian nations need to more than double their annual investment on renewables to accelerate energy transition and to meet climate goals, according to a report released recently by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

The report said that in the long term, average annual investment of 210 billion USD was needed on renewable energy and energy efficiency and to support technologies and infrastructure in the period to 2050 to limit a global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The investment is more than two and a half times the amount currently planned by Southeast Asian governments to reach their goals, IRENA said.

By investing more in renewables, IRENA said countries can reduce their energy costs and avoid as much as 1.5 trillion USD of costs related to health and environmental damage from fossil fuels up to 2050.

Southeast Asia is home to 25% of the world's geothermal generation capacity, but the region also has major coal reserves. Indonesia, the region's biggest economy, is the world's top exporter of thermal coal.

Coal retirement, coupled with renewables and regional grid interconnection, is an indispensable step to aligning with net-zero targets, IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said.

IRENA is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy./.

VNA