This event will bring together key government figures delivering the energy transition in the Southeast Asia region and the international partners working to support them to identify key challenges as well as international expertise and finance that can be used to help overcome these challenges.
Southeast Asia has relied on carbon-intensive sources of energy such as coal, which has been the single largest source of global temperature increase and elevated the region’s exposure to the unprecedented impacts of climate change. Since the early 2010s, Southeast Asia's coal power capacity expansion has been the fastest in the world, after China and India.
However, recognizing that coal is an important cause of climate change, has significant health impacts, and is no longer cost competitive with renewable energy, increasing numbers of Southeast Asian countries have announced mechanisms for managed coal phase out for a just, inclusive transition and to accelerate the deployment of renewables. Just Energy Transition Partnership deals are now in place in Indonesia and Vietnam, the Philippines has extended its coal moratorium and Malaysia has set a no new coal date.
These initial commitments need to be supported and strengthened, so that countries can fully capitalize on the benefits of the clean energy transition. This transition calls for inclusive and equitable action that protects and maximizes the economic and social outcomes of vulnerable groups. To achieve this governments will need to access international financial support and to draw on experiences and learnings from across the world.
The event will showcase the role of CIF as an international leader on coal phase out and just energy transition through its flagship ACT program. The session will identify key regional challenges to delivering managed phase out in a just and inclusive manner, explore how international experience can be used to generate solutions, and outline financial and technical support available to countries through other international initiatives (e.g., ETP Just Coal Transition Platform, and PPCA technical support).