7. Affordable and clean energy
Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential. Ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all has come one step closer due to recent progress in electrification, particularly in LDCs, and improvements in industrial energy efficiency. However, national priorities and policy ambitions still need to be strengthened to put the world on track to meet the energy targets for 2030.
Read our stories to learn more about SDG Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy is supported by Energy Development Corporation
Berita
Southeast Asia’s largest economy is currently pursuing a 2060 target for emissions neutrality, but has been struggling to receive favourable funding terms from foreign financiers to phase out coal power.
Solar-powered charging kiosks are providing electricity in the southern African country, even on cloudy days.
Air
Across Asia, China has ‘most to lose’ if mother rivers run dry and don’t recover from climate change
New analysis finds that the region’s rivers are running out of the water required for coal power generation. China, which has control over the Yangtze and the Yellow River, needs to take the lead in getting Asia to shift away from the dirty fuel.
Karbon & Iklim
India’s heat action plans overlook the vulnerable
As climate change makes heatwaves more frequent and severe in South Asia, India’s heat action plans offer pathways for adaptation, but experts say they lack necessary focus on vulnerable populations.
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Q&A: How can countries stop subsidies harming biodiversity?
Opini
Given its rich agriculture resources, biofuel will be vital for the region's net-zero plans. Solving the feedstock crunch is necessary to meet market demands, which requires careful planning and a supply chain strategy.
Karbon & Iklim
Deciphering the latest IPCC report
Wording of the report's summary reflects the presence of political wrangling – net-zero terminology was prioritised over a mention that there is a need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Feasible solutions were downplayed. This could lead less-informed policymakers to conclude that we can 'just magically plant trees and carry on as usual'.
The country’s environment and nuclear safety minister lays out the administration's reasons for quitting atomic energy after the last few plants closed this month, even as interest in the technology slowly rises in other parts of the world.
Kebijakan & Keuangan
How tapping into domestic savings is key to securing low carbon futures
Emerging markets are in urgent need of financing to support their low-carbon transition. While the world's attention has been shifting to attracting international private finance into the developing world, mobilising domestic capital will be just as important.
Kebijakan & Keuangan
Obstacles to decarbonisation in Southeast Asia
Video
After 20 years without electricity, more than 50 households in Cebu's poorest district have been provided with solar energy, financed by carbon offsets.
Vietnam's wind market is thriving, but more work lies ahead if the country wants to power its booming economy without imperilling its people and the planet.
Southeast Asian nations are racing to bring clean, affordable power to their people, but one country is outrunning them all. How can states make their renewable energy transition a success?
In gridlocked, smoggy Southeast Asian cities, change is afoot to electrify transport and clear some of the world's most polluted skies. This video documents the pockets of hope for e-mobility around the most climate-vulnerable region.
Podcasts
In a region where large hydro projects and expanding biofuel plantations coincide with an upcoming coal phaseout, a laissez-faire approach could worsen existing inequalities and mar the success of a clean energy buildout.
Energi
‘Carrots, sticks, and hugs’: Scrutinising Indonesia’s US$20 billion just transition challenge
The populous coal-rich powerhouse has six months to tell investors how it plans to spend G7 money to decarbonise equitably. We ask experts about the risks, strategy, and opportunities.
Ambitious plans to transmit clean energy from India, China and Australia into Southeast Asia have been proposed in recent years. Eco-Business speaks with two energy experts on the prospects, challenges and ingredients for success.
Eksklusif
In this new podcast series 'Climate Tech in Asia', Eco-Business speaks to Gogoro chairman and CEO Horace Luke about the company's recent listing on the Nasdaq and its quest to electrify Asia's ubiquitous two-wheelers and make battery swapping mainstream.
