The economic growth of ASEAN has been one of the most dynamic and the fastest in the world. ASEAN is one of the most preferred investment destinations in the world, and the region’s economy is expected to grow at over 5% per year to become the 4th largest economy in the world by 2030. Yet, such economic growth prospects could be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused unprecedented shocks to industries and sectors across the global economy. The energy sector, which is vital to economic growth, has not been spared. However, energy has the potential to play a critical role in global reconstruction and recovery efforts.
Under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Phase II: 2021-2025, ASEAN is stepping up its efforts to accelerate the energy transition and strengthen energy resilience through greater innovation and cooperation. ASEAN, through the APAEC, addresses the issues on energy transition in all energy sectors, balancing its reliance on the convention fuels towards its aspiration to a low carbon society. To keep the optimism that economic growth would rebound or achieve an even higher growth, ASEAN needs to address, at the regional and national levels, the challenges of greater integration and innovation in the areas of trade, investment, human capital, and regulatory coherence, while capitalising on global megatrends and other emerging trade related issues.
Building on the key findings from its ASEAN Energy Outlook, the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) will present the practical insights to shed the innovation for raising the ambition in accelerating the energy transition. This roundtable will then bring experts from various backgrounds to present current actions, innovations, and strategies, focusing specifically on how ASEAN can innovate to accelerate its energy transition.
This webinar is co-organised with the support of the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT), and as part of Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2021.