00:00I'm reporting from Singapore International Energy Week CU 2025 where the conversation
00:15this year goes beyond ambition. It's about delivery. Now us and countries have done
00:20progress in deploying renewables but experts say the pace remains too slow to match the
00:25region's surging power demand. With most member states still heavily dependent on coal, the
00:30the challenge now is how to mobilize investment, strengthen policies and build the right infrastructure
00:36to make renewables both scalable and reliable across borders.
00:41Now I spoke to Francesco La Camara, Director General of the International Renewable Energy
00:46Agency who says ASEAN must go faster and smarter in designing markets and institutions that
00:53can support this clean energy shift.
00:56We have to go faster. That's the reality. And also because of the energy demand, especially
01:06electricity, will be rising dramatically in the years to come. We expect three times increase
01:13in demand by 2050. So be the region also very dependent on coal, this means a huge amount
01:22of more emissions in the air. So this reason is very, very important that we deploy renewables
01:30as much as possible. And concerning what could be the barriers without entering the reality
01:38of any countries, generally speaking, three are the areas where government should work. One
01:49one is the infrastructure. It means that we need the grid that is interconnected, flexible
01:56and balanced among countries and domestically. We need a market that is designed for renewables.
02:10What do I mean? For example, short term contracts are not the best option for renewables. We need
02:17long term contracts. Long term contracts ensure a very low cost if you compare with other technologies.
02:27And as I told you today, renewables in more than 90 percent of the gases are more convenient
02:37than the cheapest coal plant. The third area is we mentioned the human institutional capacity.
02:47human, that means reskilling all the workers that will transition from the fossil fuel sector
03:00to renewables. And also for, how to say, build curriculum for professionals that serve the new system
03:12that is coming.
03:13La Camera also stresses the importance of interconnection, stressing how stronger regional grids will make
03:20energy systems more resilient while cutting costs and emissions.
03:24I think Malaysia has more capacity, more potential for wind than others, for example. Indonesia, they have geothermal,
03:33others have hydropower. So putting all these things together in a system and making the electrons moving,
03:40that's the future. That's where the challenges are. But if this challenge will be overcome, in the end, the region will be less dependent on fossil fuel. We'll have an energy system that's capable of moving, and that's the future.
03:44We'll have an energy system that's capable of moving electrons and molecules at a reasonable cost, and also with less social cost, and with a clean environment.
04:02As the transition gathers pace, another key question is how ASEAN can meet soaring electricity demand, while keeping power affordable.
04:11The International Energy Agency projects the region will need about 300 gigawatts of new capacity in the next decade, equivalent to Japan's entire power consumption.
04:21Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, says governments must take a balanced approach, expanding renewables, improving efficiency, and managing the growing energy use.
04:34In the region, as I mentioned yesterday, the electricity demand will skyrocket.
04:44Only in the next 10 years, only in the next 10 years, this region, ASEAN countries, will need electricity equal to 300 gigawatts, which is equal to one Japan, will be added in 10 years.
04:57It's a huge undertaking.
04:59Now, and this demand is driven by the number one driver is the air conditioners.
05:07Because, you'll be surprised, but the air conditioners are the single most important driver.
05:16Because, for example, in the US and Japan, 90% of the households have air conditioners, the average in this region is about 20%.
05:26With the increasing temperatures and the increasing in cannabis people by air conditioners, which in turn pushes up the electricity consumption.
05:34Now, the question is, how are we going to meet that electricity demand growth?
05:40The renewable costs are going down from solar to geothermal, and the countries in the region should see how they make the most out of this rather cheap solar and also the geothermal technology developments.
06:01And, under the consumption side, if the countries want to reduce their oil imports, the growing electric car sales is another dimension.
06:13Today, globally, today, one out of four cars sold in the world is electric.
06:1825% of all the cars sold electric.
06:20And, in this region, there is a big jump.
06:23It was, in 2024, 9% of all the cars sold were electric.
06:28And, this year, it is about 20%, almost double the share of electric cars.
06:33This is another issue.
06:35And, finally, maybe there is room for improving the efficiency of the energy we use.
06:41It could be the weather conditions.
06:42It can be the industrial motors, which could provide an important opportunity for the countries to save energy.
06:51Dr. Birol says ASEAN must diversify its energy and trade sources, highlighting that critical minerals could define the next phase of the global energy landscape.
07:01Critical minerals is the next chapter of the energy world, but not only the energy world.
07:10Some people believe that the critical minerals are used only for the energy technologies, such as cars, solar panels, or wind minerals.
07:19It is not true.
07:20It is only a part of the story.
07:22The critical minerals are used in the manufacturing industry, for chips, for defense, for drones, and many other things.
07:33And, today, when we look at the world, in terms of critical minerals, mining, but, more importantly, refining and processing, there is a major concentration.
07:44The concentration of very few number of countries, and one single country in Asia has an outsized role in the critical minerals domain.
07:54So, at the IEA, when I look at all the numbers and the countries, past and today, there is one lesson I learned on energy security.
08:06My golden rule number one for energy security is diversification.
08:12We have to diversify the imports of what you count energy, the diversification of the trade routes, diversification of the companies.
08:22As ASEAN deepens cooperation on renewable energy, experts agree that speed, scale, and stability will determine how successful the region can be in its transition.
08:33For Southeast Asia, the opportunity is clear. Build a cleaner, more connected energy future, while ensuring affordability and security for its people.
08:42I'm Fahna Sheeh reporting from Singapore. Stay tuned for more only on Estrawani.
08:47Taiwan.
08:51I'm sorry
08:57on the world's coastline.
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