Research Database

Understanding the dynamic nexus between CO2 emissions and economic growth in the sustainable environment helps the economies in developing resources and formulating apposite energy policies. In the recent past, various studies have explored the nexus between CO2 emissions and economic growth. This study, however, investigates the nexus between renewable energy production, CO2 emissions, and economic growth over the period from 1995 to 2016 for seven Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) methodologies were used to estimate the long- and short-run relationships. The panel results revealed that renewable energy production has a significant long term effect on CO2 emissions for Vietnam (t = −2.990), Thailand (t = −2.505), and Indonesia (t = −2.515), and economic growth impact for Malaysia (t = 2.050), Thailand (t = −2.001), and the Philippines (t = −2.710). It is, therefore, vital that the ASEAN countries implement policies and strategies that ensure energy saving and continuous economic growth without forsaking the environment. This study, as such, recommends that ASEAN countries should take measures to decrease the reliance on fossil fuels for achieving these objectives. Future research should consider the principles of circular economy and clean energy development mechanisms integrated with renewable energy technologies.

Southeast Asian governments have maintained “energy self-reliance” and “energy security” as essential rationales of their macroeconomic policy. Since the availability of energy remains necessary for unabated domestic growth and development, the pursuit for “alternative” sources of energy and the resolve to build sustainable energy systems are constant priorities. Informed by the literature on policy discourse, this article draws attention to the analytical use and significance of policy discourse as a means to examine sustainable energy policies in Southeast Asia, which dominantly adopted an economic lens for “energy supply security.” Policy documents were examined to show the congruence and variation of policy discourses that prompted the governments of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore to institutionalize sustainable energy development from 2000 to 2016—a critical period for the institutionalization of sustainable energy in the region, when domestic renewable energy sectors and systems were simultaneously being established by these governments.

Energy security and climate strategy are the twin goals behind the aggressive promotion of the Philippines and Thailand for developing renewable energy (RE) resources. Investment in the RE sector in the Philippines, however, has been weigh down by barriers including: (i) the difficulty in accessing finance; (ii) tedious administrative procedures; and (iii) the lack of local acceptance, as identified from documentary reviews and in the survey interview done in the Philippines in 2016. The author explores in this paper the design and the mechanism of the Energy Conservation (ENCON) Fund, a well-acclaimed innovative financing scheme which is said to be a key that makes Thailand an investment hub for clean energy investment, from which the Philippines can learn from to similarly address these barriers to its own RE goals.

This paper aims to evaluate the policies targeted at regulating automobile emissions among ASEAN countries but with specific attention to the Philippines. Technology-based regulations on motor vehicles play an important role in reducing green-house gas emissions. However, regulations differ based on the level of economic development, policies and technological base of each country. This paper uses an example of the Euro 4 automobile emission regulations to examine its implementation process and strategies of each ASEAN countries. It subsequently focuses on the Philippines to analyse the role of government, multinational automobile manufacturers and local suppliers. The findings show that the strategies of automobile manufacturers have positively affected local suppliers’ technological capabilities.

This paper aims to evaluate the policies targeted at regulating automobile emissions among ASEAN countries but with specific attention to the Philippines. Technology-based regulations on motor vehicles play an important role in reducing green-house gas emissions. However, regulations differ based on the level of economic development, policies and technological base of each country. This paper uses an example of the Euro 4 automobile emission regulations to examine its implementation process and strategies of each ASEAN countries. It subsequently focuses on the Philippines to analyse the role of government, multinational automobile manufacturers and local suppliers. The findings show that the strategies of automobile manufacturers have positively affected local suppliers’ technological capabilities.

The Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) recognizes the role of nonmotorized transport for sustainable urban development in its policy framework. National and local policymakers in Thailand and The Philippines, two tropical countries without a tradition of urban cycling, are increasingly paying attention to cycling as well. This article aims to assess the current situation and progress in cycling, using Bangkok and Metropolitan Manila as case study cities, and to describe the necessary conditions for advancing the significance of cycling in tropical megacities. This is done by operationalizing the so-called Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework, which has been used in transition studies since 2008, however, never for cycling. As such this article also “tests” this framework for its application in sustainable transportation. The two case studies are characterized with regards to the current role of cycling in the mobility system, its infrastructure, governance system, and existing research on the potential and barriers. We find that TIS can readily be applied to our cases, with the analysis showing that elements such as knowledge development, actor networks, e-bike adoption, infrastructure, resource mobilization and legitimation are not well developed; on the other hand, flat terrain, attention for cycling for health and environment, heavy congestion, expansion of public transport, growing bike industry, active university communities, and the emergence of advocacy coalitions, could open up opportunities for increasing its modal share.

Emerging countries in Southeast Asia are facing considerable challenges in addressing rising motorisation and its negative impact on air quality, traffic, energy security, liveability, and greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the approach and status of sustainable, low-carbon transport policy in ASEAN countries and identifies differences and similarities. The methodology is based on a taxonomy of policy components as developed by Howlett and Cashore. The data come from comprehensive country studies for Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam and interviews with policymakers. We find that each country has a specific set of goals, objectives and targets that support sustainable transport, and, directly or indirectly, climate change mitigation. In terms of specific mechanisms and calibrations, which we analyse based on the Avoid−Shift−Improve approach, there are notable differences between the countries, for example in terms of fuel economy policy. Even though an initial response to climate change mitigation challenges is visible in these countries’ transport policies, much more effort is required to enable a transition to a transport system compatible with long-term climate change and sustainable development targets.

This study examines whether policies to promote renewable electricity generation are likely to be effective by applying panel unit root and stationarity tests to time series data on renewable electricity generation for 115 countries over the period 1980-2008. We find that for the panel as a whole, and almost three quarters of the individual countries, renewable electricity generation is characterized by a unit root. This result implies that policies to promote renewable electricity generation, such as renewable portfolio standards, which result in annual increases in renewable energy and, as such, which represent permanent positive shocks to the long-run growth path of renewable electricity generation, will be more effective in increasing renewable electricity generation than policies with a pre-specified time horizon.