Collaboration key for ASEAN to unlock benefits of global renewables goal

Positive changes are seen in the direction of a clean energy future. Commitments are made and progress is taking place with an unprecedented 473 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power added globally in 2023, a 14 percent increase and the largest annual growth ever.

- Francesco La Camera

As the finishing line closes in, however, this achievement still leaves a tremendous gap.

As much as an average annual addition of 1,044 GW is needed between today and 2030 to fulfill the global goal of tripling renewables from the 2023 capacity of 3,870 GW to at least 11,000 GW by the end of the decade.

This tripling of renewable energy capacity was set out in the outcome of the United Nations COP28 climate conference in Dubai in December 2023.

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

Already, ASEAN members have collectively aspired to cover 35 percent of their electricity needs with renewables by 2025.

There is no doubt that tripling renewables is technically feasible and economically viable. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency's (Irena) 1.5 deg C scenario, ASEAN can even achieve a 47 percent share of renewable power capacity by 2025.

But despite its considerable renewable energy potential, ASEAN members contributed about 105 GW to the global renewables capacity of 3,865 GW as at 2023.

To make sure the remaining six years see accelerated increase in ASEAN's renewables capacity, the region needs to enhance the key enablers of a renewables-dominated system and overcome the existing barriers.

Irena identified regional power interconnection as an enabler of the region's decarbonisation and energy transition. It is estimated that an integrated approach of grid expansion at the regional level can increase ASEAN's total renewables capacity to 3,400 GW by 2050.

This is why the ASEAN Power Grid—which aims to connect neighbouring countries and facilitate cross-border renewable power trade—should be the focus of South-east Asian countries' infrastructure expansion and modernisation.