ASEAN Green Future Presents at the Asia-Pacific Climate Week

On 14 November 2023, ASEAN Green Future (AGF) presented at the Asia-Pacific Climate Week (APCW), which is one of four Regional Climate Weeks held this year to build momentum ahead of COP 28 in Dubai.

Hosted by the Johor state government in collaboration with the Government of Malaysia, APCW attracted a broad audience from across the region, including officers from the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) and the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO). At this session, the Malaysia and Singapore country teams presented their findings from quantitative and qualitative climate policy analysis. A discussant from a government linked investment company was invited to provide a critique.

AGF is a multi-year research project launched in 2021 involving the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), ClimateWorks Centre and nine country teams from leading universities and think tanks across Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam). 

The session was chaired by Leong Yuen Yoong, Director of Sustainability Studies at SDSN and Professor at Sunway University. The Asia Headquarters of SDSN is funded by the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation and hosted at Sunway University.

The Singapore country team was represented by Zach Lee from Nanyang Technological University, who presented an overview of the power sector in Singapore, highlighting the need for Singapore to trade power with its neighbors given that its scarce land area limits the potential for renewable energy generation.

Next, Low Wai Sern presented about power supply in Malaysia and the possible renewable mixes to decarbonize Malaysia’s electricity grid. This was followed by Justin Liew, who spoke about power demand projections and recommendations in Malaysia, with a focus on the residential and commercial sectors.

Finally, Tan Siaw Woan from Khazanah Nasional Berhad provided her personal critique, which highlighted concerns regarding the energy "trilemma", rising geopolitical tensions, and funding shortfalls as key challenges for decarbonizing energy systems.

A lively question and answer session followed the presentations.

During their time there, the AGF team also attended other sessions covering a wide range of topics across the four themes at APCW: Energy System and Technology; Cities, Urban and Rural Settlements, Infrastructure and Transport; Land, Ocean, Food and Water; and Societies, Health, Livelihoods and Economies. A unique feature of the APCW programme is that the central hall of the venue continuously featured youth-led sessions throughout the week, as a way of amplifying the voice of youth and highlighting their role in tackling the climate crisis.