The 38^th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) was hosted virtually by Viet Nam on 19 November 2020 under the theme “Energy Transition Towards Sustainable Development”. H.E. Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam, chaired the Meeting. Hon Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mat Suny bin Haji Md Hussein, Minister of Energy of Brunei Darussalam was the Vice Chair.

At this high-level meeting, the ASEAN Energy Ministers pledged to continue to accelerate the energy transition of ASEAN towards a sustainable energy future, amidst unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the global energy sector and overall economic growth. It is in this context; the Ministers endorsed the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Phase II: 2021-2025 and the 6^th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO6).

The ASEAN Climate Change and Change Project (ACCEPT) is grateful for the opportunity to be involved in the development of the two new endorsed ASEAN energy major documents, APAEC Phase II: 2021-2025 and the 6^th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO6), bringing the elements of energy-related climate policy and sustainable development goals.

“In the Joint Ministerial Statement of the 37^th AMEM, 4 September 2019, the Ministers welcomed the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT), the first energy cooperation project in collaboration with the Norwegian Government under the Norwegian-ASEAN Regional Integration Programme (NARIP), which aims to support ASEAN in improving the coherence between the ASEAN energy and climate policies and contribute to more climate-friendly development of the energy sector.”

The APAEC Phase II: 2021-2025

With the sub-theme “Accelerating Energy Transition and Strengthening Energy Resilience through Greater Innovation and Cooperation”, APAEC Phase II frames the region’s energy cooperation agenda in the next five years as well as the longer-term work towards a sustainable ASEAN energy future. APAEC Phase II highlights the energy sector’s contributions to the overall goals of the ASEAN Community, including its response to cross-sectoral imperatives for economic recovery and sustainable development, expectations of sustainability, climate response and resilience, and the demands of rapid urbanisation, demographic growth, and digitalisation, amongst other emerging issues.

Compared to APAEC Phase I, this new regional blueprint on energy cooperation includes more concrete formulations on the acceleration of the energy transition, support for climate change efforts under Paris Agreement, and meets sustainable development goals.

One of the major additions in the new APAEC Phase II is the adoption of the new Outcome-Based Strategy (OBS) 6: “Promote Information Sharing on the Energy-Climate Nexus”, under the Programme Area “Regional Energy Policy and Planning (REPP)”. The designed Action Plans under this OBS 6 will promote information sharing on the energy-climate nexus, provide insights into synergising the energy measures and climate actions, as well as the enablers and constraints pertaining to decarbonisation. Such knowledge will assist the

ASEAN energy sector in addressing energy issues related to climate change and managing the energy trilemma, including the food-energy-water nexus.

“In the Joint Ministerial Statement (JMS) of 38^th AMEM, the Ministers acknowledged the new outcome-based strategy on promoting information sharing on the energy-climate nexus by ACE with the support from ACCEPT under the Norwegian-ASEAN Regional Integration Programme (NARIP).”

The 6^th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO6)

The Ministers also welcomed the key findings of the 6^th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO6), which analyses the development of the ASEAN energy landscape between now and 2040. The Ministers noted that AEO6 helps identify pathways and scenarios to pursue the regional targets envisioned by the new APAEC Phase II.

AEO6, prepared by the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the ASEAN-German Energy Programme (AGEP), in close collaboration with experts and policy-makers from all 10 ASEAN Member States (AMS), examines how the region can meet the energy needs of its growing economy and population from now until 2040.

ACCEPT was also involved and provided valuable input for the development of AEO6, in particular on the development of the modelling scenarios that consider the energy and climate change nexus and sustainable development goals, as well as input on the narrative of the analysis of the results that clearly articulates the implications of energy-related climate policy and sustainable development goals.

As a result of ACCEPT input, in addition to the three traditional scenarios, this newest version of the ASEAN Energy Outlook adds a new scenario focused on attaining Sustainable Development Goal 7, “Affordable and Clean Energy”. And recognising that all ASEAN Member States have ratified the Paris Agreement and submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), AEO6 also takes into account all energy-related NDCs, including those concerning energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy access targets.

The findings from AEO6 identified that to reduce its GHG emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, the region must make efforts in all sectors, but especially in the energy sector, which is the largest emitter. Several concrete recommendations for the energy-climate nexus are presented, such as increasing renewable energy penetration to boost energy security through diversification and self-sufficiency while reducing GHG emissions and social externality cost, as well as creating more jobs from the renewable energy sector itself, especially for Solar and Wind. Then, strengthen emission standards for power plants to reduce GHG emissions and protect public health, adopting the ambitious energy efficiency measures and emission standards for the industry sector, and strengthen vehicle emission and fuel quality standards for the transportation sector and lastly enhancing the building codes and stricter appliances efficiency standards in the commercial and residential sector.

“AEO6 acknowledged the support provided by the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT) was also valuable for the development of the AEO6, in particular for their input on the development of the modelling scenarios that consider the energy and climate change nexus and sustainable development goals, as well as input on the narrative of the analysis of the results that clearly articulates the implications of energy-related climate policy and sustainable development goals.”