On 30-31 January 2020, the 3^rd working meeting on the regional goal of the 6^th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO6) was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Six ASEAN Member States (AMS) attended the meeting: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Also joining were representatives from Specialized Energy Bodies (SEB) and Sub-Sector Network (SSN): Heads of Power Utilities/Authorities (HAPUA), ASEAN Forum on Coal (AFOC), Energy Efficiency & Conservation (EE&C-SSN), as well as Renewable Energy Sub-Sector Network (RE-SSN).

The meeting aims to share the most updated Outlook model and review both the country-specific and regional results. Through discussions of best practices and dialogue sessions, the meeting also attempts to address the gap between the regional model and the ASEAN Plan of Action on Energy Cooperation (APAEC) target scenario (APS). The meeting should result in modeling inputs for the attainment of Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Intensity (EI) targets of APAEC—23% of RE share in TPES by 2025 and EI reduction 30% by 2025, based on the 2005 level.

The first day of the meeting was divided into two separate sessions. First is a face-to-face discussion session between the modeling team and each country’s representatives. Another one is a plenary session aimed to explore strategies for achieving the regional (APAEC) target.

Represented by their Research Analyst, Mr. Muhammad Rizki Kresnawan, ACCEPT intensively engaged with the states during the face-to-face session. It was led by Dr. Tharinya Supasa and also joined by Ms. Iqlima Fuqoha and Mr. Sandy Fajrian. The modeling team presented the country model, including the data sources and assumptions list, as well as results from the baseline scenario and ASEAN target scenario (ATS). Additionally, they showed the impacts of their respective targets on energy-related emissions. Feedbacks were given by countries’ representatives to improve the model.

In the plenary session, ACCEPT Project Manager, Mr. Beni Suryadi, led the lecture-based dialogue on various topics in the energy sector. The purpose is to identify the gaps in achieving the RE and EI targets, and required collaborative efforts to fulfill the gaps. Studies from the invited speakers triggered intense discussions. One of them, Dr. Indra Overland from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), gave a lecture on the lessons learned from Norway’s electric vehicle (EV) implementation and how to implement them into the ASEAN context. He showed how the trend of EV is growing all over the world, also strengthened by the high solar and wind energy penetration. Hence, he implored ASEAN to be ready to ride the trend and not left behind.

On the second day, the meeting discussed the efforts that can be taken to fill the remaining gaps between ATS and APS. During the discussion, all participants freely provide their input on potential sectors that can be improved to achieve the APAEC Targets on EI and RE. Some suggestions are the improvement of energy intensity reduction in all sectors, mode shift toward modern cooking, implementation of clean transport, and aggressive RE targets. Dr. Zulfikar Yurnaidi, a Senior Research Analyst of ACCEPT, pointed out the importance of synchronized statistics and benefit-cost-based analysis to improve the Outlook and engage policymakers.

As a side meeting, Mr. Suryadi, Dr. Yurnaidi, Dr. Overland, and Mr. Mikkel Pedersen—another colleague from NUPI—discussed activities plan of ACCEPT in 2020. Exciting concepts were examined: Researcher Network, energy-climate policy workshop, academic conference, and thematic papers. Related to AEO6, ACCEPT would continue to support it through the modeling works, analysis and report writing, until its official launch in 38^th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) 2020 in Vietnam.

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