H.E. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), delves into the unique challenges and strategic endeavours propelling Asia Pacific's sustainable development and journey towards net zero.
What are the unique challenges within the Asia-Pacific region that must be addressed to close the gap for the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7?
This year marks the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The United Nations (UN)'s Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) is one of the 17 SDGs selected for in-depth review at this year's High-level Political Forum. In October, ESCAP released the 2023 Regional Trends Report under the title "Closing the gap for SDG 7 in the Asia-Pacific region".
Asia Pacific, home to more than half of the world's population, consumes more than 40 percent of global energy. The region contributes to over half of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with 80 percent of this originating from the energy sector. Progress on SDG 7 is thus critical as this will lay the foundation not only for the region's energy transition, but also the world's ability to combat climate change.
The region's energy mix is predominantly reliant on fossil fuels. To achieve the SDG 7 targets for universal access to modern energy, Asia Pacific needs to scale up energy efficiency, renewable energy deployment, and clean energy investments.
While significant progress has been made in recent years, investments in clean energy technologies have been concentrated in just a handful of countries, leaving developing economies lagging in the net zero journey.
This has important implications on whether the region can achieve an equitable and just energy transition. Continued investment in fossil fuels not only contributes towards climate change and air pollution, it will likely lead to financial burdens, including the risk of stranded assets. Phasing out investments in fossil fuels, particularly in coal, in a controlled and equitable manner, is essential to ensuring the overall success of the energy transition.
One of the most critical remaining SDG 7 challenges is the lack of access to modern energy services. Nearly 1.2 billion people in the region still rely on traditional biomass for cooking and space heating needs, while 53 million people lack access to electricity.
How can the region hasten its progress to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7?
We are seeing some encouraging signs of improvement. For example, the region has seen a steady decline in energy intensity. However, while we welcome this progress, its pace still falls significantly short of the SDG 7 target. In fact, this has been decelerating. To achieve the SDGs and reach net zero emissions by 2050, progress needs to be tripled in the lead-up to 2030.
An increasingly important aspect of the energy transition, which holds true not only in our region but also around the world, is the growing demand for critical raw materials (CRMs). Asia Pacific is both a major supplier and consumer of CRMs, which are essential inputs for the technologies driving the energy transition. Aligning the extractive industries with the SDGs requires a holistic approach and effective policy measures.
There are multiple opportunities for the promotion and acceleration of sustainable energy development in Asia Pacific. While policy solutions for sustainable energy development must be tailored and calibrated to the local context, our Regional Trends Report outlines actions that regional countries can take to accelerate progress towards achieving SDG 7. These include:
What are the benefits of regional interconnectivity?
Regional power system connectivity is a key strategy for accelerating the energy transition. By integrating power systems across borders, countries can access more cost-effective renewable energy resources which are often located far from demand centres. This can help countries integrate higher shares of variable renewables, such as wind and solar photovoltaics, by capitalising on weather pattern variations across our region and by improving power system flexibility. Furthermore, energy security is enhanced through increasing power system diversity and reducing exposure to volatile global markets for fossil fuels.
In 2021, ESCAP Member States endorsed the Regional Roadmap on Power System Connectivity, which serves as our guiding framework this year. This roadmap comprises a vision, a set of principles and nine strategies designed to increase power system connectivity as a tool for sustainable development. These strategies encompass topics such as cooperating on power system planning, financing cross-border infrastructure, securely, and efficiently operating integrated power systems. There are also cross-cutting strategies such as the need for political support and intergovernmental agreements, as well as the importance of ensuring that power system connectivity initiatives are aligned with sustainable development.
How is ESCAP advancing regional interconnectivity among its members?
Let me highlight a few key strategies and how we are working with our Member States to implement them.
One strategy centres on developing a regional power grid masterplan. The goal here is to create a shared vision for regional integration among all ESCAP Member States. For this to be effective, it must build upon existing efforts that already have political support. The ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS) III serves as a great example of how countries can collaborate to develop a vision of an integrated future that reflects the region's diversity and strengths.
Another strategy focuses on the need to coordinate, harmonise and institutionalise policy and regulatory frameworks. Cross-border connectivity initiatives face the challenge of integrating power systems in countries that have very different market, regulatory and even technical environments. Again, we see ASEAN as an example of effective collaboration. Institutions like the Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities/Authorities (HAPUA), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Energy Regulatory Network (AERN), and the ASEAN Centre for Energy provide the necessary collaboration to balance domestic policy priorities with what is required for secure and efficient cross-border power trade.
Earlier I highlighted the value of power system connectivity in unlocking flexibility, which we will need to integrate higher shares of renewable energy. One distinct strategy emphasises leveraging multilateral power trade as a tool to unlock flexibility by allowing power to flow from wherever it is produced to wherever it is most needed. Again, we can point to ASEAN as leading the way for the region. The Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) is the first such multilateral power trade in the region. It truly is a pathfinder project for accessing the full benefits of power system connectivity, and is already inspiring similar efforts in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Another strategy focuses on the need for capacity building. A lot of our work at ESCAP is focused on building the capacities and skills required to develop and operate integrated power systems. For this, we work closely with the ASEAN Centre for Energy and ASEAN Secretariat to create training programmes for power utilities and regulators in Southeast Asia.
Yet another strategy that is critically important to the energy transition is ensuring that energy connectivity initiatives align and remain consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. Connectivity's effectiveness as a tool comes when it is used properly. Over the past year, we have been developing the Green Power Corridor Framework. This framework aims to provide a set of building blocks, principles and metrics to guide and facilitate the development of sustainable connectivity initiatives. We look forward to collaborating with ASEAN stakeholders in the upcoming months to implement the framework within the context of the ASEAN Power Grid.
What are some of the key initiatives championed by ESCAP to achieve an "Energy Transition Towards a Net Zero World"?
Allow me to shine a spotlight on our Third Asia-Pacific Energy Forum, held on 19-20 October. This is the only UN-organised ministerial event focusing on energy for our region. The Forum provides an important opportunity to highlight efforts towards achieving net zero emissions in the coming decades, as well as how ESCAP works to support these efforts. We are hopeful governments will announce their commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by or around mid-century, and we call for urgent action on energy that aligns with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement.
I mentioned our Green Power Corridor Framework earlier. We are currently developing a Green Power Corridor Roadmap for Northeast Asia. It models different scenarios to show how connectivity can help countries meet their net zero targets faster and more affordably. In addition, we have collaborated with partners to model the benefits of increased power system connectivity to support decarbonisation in Southeast Asia. We will be presenting the draft results at the Forum.
ESCAP has actively supported its Member States in developing national and sub-national SDG 7 roadmaps. These roadmaps identify gaps that countries face in achieving the SDG 7 targets. They propose scenarios for the energy sectors, backed by policies and technologies to bridge these gaps. As we are now at the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda, there is a pressing need to accelerate these efforts.
As these roadmaps are developed, countries are also mindful of the need to prioritise the long-term and sustainable transformation of their energy systems, aiming for significant emissions reductions to align with 2050 net zero targets. These SDG 7 roadmaps provide an important foundation for this process.
ESCAP stands ready to support its Member States in addressing their technical and capacity-building needs for effective planning and optimisation of policies and technologies to achieve net zero emissions.
About H.E. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
Prior to joining ESCAP, H.E. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana was Professor of Economics at Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia, a position she assumed in 2005. She joined Universitas Padjadjaran as a lecturer in 1988. Since 2016, she has served as Director for the Center for Sustainable Development Goals Studies at Universitas Padjadjaran and Vice Chair of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences.
She also serves on the Governing Board of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and member of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (Akademi Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia - AIPI), the Forum of Statistics Community (Forum Masyarakat Statistik or Advisory Council of the Indonesian Statistics), the International Advisory Board of the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies and Council Member of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI).
From 2009 to 2014, she was Minister of National Development Planning and the Head of the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Indonesia. She served as Co-chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation from 2012 to 2014. From 2009 to 2014, she was Alternate Governor of the World Bank and Alternate Governor of the Asian Development Bank representing the government of Indonesia. In 2016, she was a member of the High-Level Independent Team of Advisors to support the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations Development System in the context of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.
Ms Alisjahbana has been involved in various research projects and consultancies to the United Nations University/Institute for Advanced Study in Tokyo, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the European Commission, and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The Under-Secretary General earned her Bachelor's degree in Economics and Development Studies from the Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia, a Master's degree in Economics from Northwestern University, US, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Washington, US. She was awarded the Mahaputra Adipradana Order (Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana) from the Republic of Indonesia, honorary brevet from the Indonesian Navy, and honorary flight wing from the Indonesian Air Force.