Regional green initiative a vital partnership

South-east Asia’s vibrant, and diverse, economies are a growth engine for the world, yet the region remains deeply dependent on fossil fuels for energy. For it to stay competitive and to reduce the increasingly costly impacts of climate change, the region needs to shift away from coal, oil and gas and embrace cleaner sources of energy, all the while ensuring economic growth and energy security. It is an enormous challenge for a region of nearly 700 million people – more than twice the population of the United States.

The

Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community (Azec)

is a welcome initiative that can help Asean economies transition to green energy. The initiative focuses on funding and technology partnerships and operates on the principle of crafting individual pathways for each community member to reach net-zero emissions. The 11 members – Japan, Australia and all the Asean countries except Myanmar – held their first leaders’ meeting in Tokyo on Dec 18. The leaders pledged to promote “decarbonisation towards carbon neutrality/net-zero emissions, while also achieving economic growth, energy security and resilience, especially through innovation”.