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
News
A South Korean law to ease tensions with fisherfolk could face months of delays after missing the legislative polls deadline, while more conflicts are surfacing in the Philippines. Can tighter financing criteria help avoid disputes?
The new research findings coincide with Malaysia’s launch of its renewable energy exchange platform and new guidelines for the export of clean energy to neighbours Singapore and Thailand.
Solar farms in the ocean could generate clean energy on a vast scale, but there are difficult waters to navigate first.
Policy & Finance
Indonesia and the Philippines contributed bulk of US$6.3 billion green investment hike in Southeast Asia
But it is Singapore and Vietnam which have made the most progress in reaching climate goals over the past year, as the region grapples to meet US$1.5 trillion required to achieve 2030 emissions targets.
Carbon & Climate
'Right time to revisit' managed coal phase-out in Japan: GFANZ APAC
Opinion
India’s Indigenous Prototype Fast Breeder Nuclear Reactor (PFBR) and abundant thorium reserves hold key to India’s future energy security.
Companies and investors planning to buy Malaysia's hydropower-backed RECs should consider the greenhouse gasses emitted by their reservoirs, as well as biodiversity and social concerns.
Such technologies appeal to those who repudiate the need for transformative societal change to limit global warming and could become a dangerous distraction, especially as it gains traction as a delay tactic for the fossil fuel industry.
Governments in the region must fix their opaque regulatory frameworks and make use of innovative financing models, says analyst Shantanu Srivastava.
Food & Agriculture
Energy and agrarian justice in Southeast Asia’s green transition
Videos
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
Green Buildings
‘Sustainability must be accessible’: Arthaland’s CSO on making sustainable real estate in the Philippines a norm
EB Studio
If a real estate development can reduce energy and water consumption – and emit fewer carbon emissions – it is built to last, Oliver Chan tells the Eco-Business podcast. The key, however, is to first educate future homeowners and businesses that going green does not mean breaking the bank.
Energy
Scrutiny, Scope 3 and Asian realities: Petronas sustainability chief on climate action at COP28
The oil and gas sector needs to cut operational emissions faster, Charlotte Wolff-Bye tells the Eco-Business podcast. But slashing fuel output won’t do for the Asian supplier, and it welcomes respectful debate at the climate summit.
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.
Energy
‘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.
