SIEW Summit: Building Policy and Finance Bridges to Asia's Clean Future

By Jeremy Yap, EMA

Asia's energy transition is gathering pace. Achieving a sustainable, secure, and inclusive energy future will depend on aligning policy ambition with financial innovation.

During SIEW Summit Session 1: Envisioning Asia's Energy Future, leaders from government, industry, and finance discussed how to balance the energy trilemma of security, affordability, and sustainability. Their insights showed that the systems built today—from policy frameworks to capital structures—will define the region's clean energy future.

Balancing the energy trilemma through adaptive policies

H.E. Eddy Soeparno, People's Consultative Assembly Vice Speaker, Republic of Indonesia, underscored that Asia's energy transition begins with policy. For Indonesia, policy clarity and legislative reform are essential to accelerate renewables deployment.

The country aims to raise its renewable energy mix to 40 percent within a decade through new legislation. This includes a renewable energy bill and forthcoming Climate Change Management Bill. These frameworks aim to balance Indonesia's energy trilemma of security, affordability, and sustainability.

Smarter grids and market innovation are crucial for scale

Lim Wee Seng, Group Head of Sustainability, Energy, Renewables & Infrastructure, Project Finance and Strategic Advisory, Institutional Banking Group, DBS Bank, likened Asia's transition to building bridges to net zero.

Beyond capacity expansion, he noted, the region must invest in grids, ancillary services, and flexible infrastructure. He highlighted the need to reconfigure existing power plants to enhance grid flexibility and support renewable integration. He also called for innovative financing, from hybrid models to transition credits, that can reconfigure fossil assets and enable earlier phase-outs. These measures, he said, can create more flexible and reliable systems.

Predictable regulation and interconnection to drive investment

From an industry perspective, Charles Koh, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Platform Founder, GoNetZero, Sembcorp, emphasised that clear regulation and regional interconnection are vital to unlock private investment.

Drawing parallels with the early Internet era, he described how cross-border power connectivity can enhance regional access and innovation. Regulatory consistency and predictability, he added, are key to industry confidence and long-term R&D collaboration across the energy chain.

Energy transition as a driver of inclusive resilience

Lin Yang, Deputy Executive Secretary for Programme, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), noted that Asia remains the world's economic engine, contributing 60 percent of global GDP. Yet resilience must underpin that growth.

The energy transition, she said, is central to inclusive development. It supports local value, green industrialisation, and the reduction of energy poverty. Regional cooperation in infrastructure, finance, and innovation will be key to sustaining progress.

Financing the transition through public-private collaboration

Speakers agreed that financing will ultimately determine success. Both public and private sectors must mobilise the estimated US$1.5 trillion needed for Asia's infrastructure transition, a figure cited by Mr Koh.

Mr Soeparno highlighted Indonesia's new public-private partnerships in waste-to-energy and renewables. Mr Lim pointed to transition credits as a game-changing mechanism to channel funds from capital-rich markets to emerging economies. This convergence of finance and policy innovation will be essential to achieving Asia's net zero ambitions.

Connecting policy, partnership, and finance for a resilient future

Moderator Gurbuz Gonul, Director, Country Engagement & Partnerships, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), concluded by reiterating that policy, technology, and finance must advance together.

In closing, the discussion underscored that aligning policy, partnership, and finance will be critical to building a sustainable and inclusive regional energy system.

Stay tuned as the conversation evolves throughout the day. Follow @SIEW_sg on Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) for the latest insights.