As support for credits tied to shutting Asia’s coal plants early grows, a buyers alliance has been formed. Efforts to boost confidence in the new asset class have borne fruit and proponents are now looking at strengthening “the demand side of the equation” by end of the year, said Rockerfeller Foundation's climate lead Joseph Curtin.
Before US tariffs, an AI-fuelled data centre boom had spurred tech giants to make big renewables bets in the region. Mounting uncertainty is prompting a "wait and see" approach, though the long game hinges on local policies, say experts.
As the United States sets unprecedented new import duties, pressure mounts on Asia to buy American natural gas to address trade imbalances. Experts urge tapping into solar and wind potential to counter economic uncertainty in the region.
All 160 MW of proposed plants are for captive use, mostly tied to nickel smelting. The country remains a key coal supplier to the rest of the region, where stalled projects have outpaced new construction, according to Global Energy Monitor.
Given the US administration’s ambition to “drill, baby, drill” for oil and gas, its withdrawal from JETP could be good news for the energy transition.
By
Grant Hauber
The financing gap is huge, but time is short. Given the inadequacy of a promised new climate finance goal, Southeast Asia should look beyond UN-led conferences to crowd in other sources of capital to tackle the climate crisis.
By
Prapimphan Chiengkul
Asean needs to develop a collective response to the geopolitics of renewable energy in order to address resource nationalism and the adverse impacts of growing US-China rivalry on Southeast Asia's energy transition.
By
Mirza Sadaqat Huda
To achieve net zero emissions in Southeast Asia, addressing the significant financing gap is crucial, requiring bold targets and more international support.
By
Trang Nguyen
Campaigning for the city-state's general elections has crossed the halfway mark, but climate has hardly featured as an electoral issue. Eco-Business hits the streets to ask Singaporeans from a range of socioeconomic groups: Would they vote for a party that promises bolder climate action?
There is consensus that coal needs to be retired early in Asia, but the mechanisms for financing the phase-out are not clear. This mini-documentary examines how transition credits work and whether they can fund Southeast Asia's equitable switch to clean power.
Gaurav Sant, founder of startup SeaChange, tells Eco-Business about a technology he hopes will give the world's oceans the capacity to absorb additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
After 20 years without electricity, more than 50 households in Cebu's poorest district have been provided with solar energy, financed by carbon offsets.
EB Studio
CapitaLand sustainability chiefs Vinamra Srivastava and Giovanni Cossu tell the Eco-Business Podcast that there is a viable path to net zero for the world's fastest growing cities.
Entrepreneur Steve Melhuish tells the EB Podcast where the biggest opportunities to reduce emissions and make money are in Southeast Asia, and why finding the right economic incentives is critical for climate tech startups.
The new head of Japan and Southeast Asia for ClientEarth tells the Eco-Business Podcast how the law can be used to hold polluters to account in the world's biggest emitting region. She also says it's time the legal profession faced scrutiny for greenwashing.
Former petrochemicals industry executives Steve Willis and Genevieve Hilton have written a novel set 50 years into the future that has a happy ending. They tell the Eco-Business podcast that the book is a pitch to carbon-intensive industries to try workable climate solutions.