The Asian Clean Fuels Association (ACFA), a Singapore-based industry non-profit that advocates for cleaner fossil fuel-based transport fuels, has appointed former Shell Asia Pacific climate policy lead Serene Johnson as its new executive director.
Johnson succeeds Clarence Woo, who led ACFA for more than two decades. Woo, a former Mobil Oil and Ethyl Corporation executive, has joined the Global Centre for Green Fuels, a biofuels think tank established last year.
As executive director, Johnson will oversee ACFA’s strategic direction, partnerships, and advocacy efforts.
In a statement shared with Eco-Business, Johnson said she recognised that Asia “sits at the crux of the climate crisis” and aims to work with ACFA members to “contextualise the role of ethers in automotive fuels within a new set of energy transition parameters.”
“We will seek to address key questions around sustainable electrification and optimal biomass resource allocation, and continue to stress the fundamentals of safe, responsible fuel blending – working alongside regulators to uphold high standards and best practices,” she said.
Johnson added that she plans to engage closely with industry players to understand their concerns and ensure that ACFA’s advocacy “continues to evolve in step with the region’s shifting energy landscape.”
She moves into the role after 20 years with Shell, the last five in decarbonisation roles. Over her career with the oil and gas giant – which last year rolled back some of its climate targets, most notably weakening its 2030 carbon reduction goal – Johnson has worked in sales, policy and strategy in Asia and Europe.
Founded in 2000, ACFA is a not-for-profit industry association promoting cleaner automotive fuels and science-based fuel quality standards across Asia and the Middle East. Its board comprises executives from petrochemicals producers Sabic, Huntsman, Evonik, Ecofuel SpA, and LyondellBasell.
The group has worked to influence policy on fuel standards in China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia, and earlier this year published a paper that advocated for the adoption of higher octane grades in Indonesia. The paper noted that that Indonesia’s reliance on low-octane fuels is a concern for urban air quality.
Critics argue that organisations like ACFA, such as the Asia Clean Energy Forum, are involved in greenwashing by promoting fossil fuels as a solution to air quality problems while overlooking their climate impact. They are concerned about the lobbying of governments and the perpetuation of fossil fuel derivatives in alternative fuels, despite the global push for renewable energy and electrification to cut emissions.
