US exit from global renewable energy agency won’t impact South-east Asia support, says chief

ABU DHABI – The United States’ plans to withdraw from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will not affect the agency’s support for South-east Asia’s renewable energy ambitions, said IRENA’s chief.

IRENA’s director-general Francesco La Camera said on Jan 11 that the agency is looking for resources in other ways to help fill the gap so that no particular regions will be affected.

The agency has not received a formal notification from the US on its withdrawal, but will work to prevent the potential US withdrawal from having a “significant impact” on its work, he told reporters on the sidelines of the 16th IRENA Assembly in Abu Dhabi.

“The United States... (is) a powerful country and we have also been working well in the past. But this is what politics brings sometime, you have to accept it.”

US President Donald Trump on Jan 7 signed a proclamation

withdrawing the country

from 35 non-UN organisations, including IRENA, and 31 UN entities that “operate contrary to US national interests”.

Mr La Camera said it is crucial to “intercept the demand” in regions like South-east Asia and Africa – where the energy demand is growing faster and still heavily reliant on coal or fossil fuels – by transitioning them to renewable energy.

South-east Asia has accounted for 11 per cent of global energy demand growth since 2010, and this is projected to rise to more than 25 per cent of the growth by 2035, the International Energy Agency said in a 2024 report.

Renewable energy is considered a major solution to tackling the climate crisis and limiting global warming as such plants do not release greenhouse emissions, unlike fossil fuel plants.

More than 140 countries discussed and advanced their renewable energy ambitions at the IRENA Assembly from Jan 10 to 12.

Countries and organisations also stressed the importance of international cooperation to drive renewable energy ambitions, despite the potential withdrawal of the US from the agency.

At the 2023 UN climate change conference COP28, held in Dubai, governments agreed to triple global renewable energy capacity to more than 11,000GW by 2030.

Spain’s Secretary of State for Energy, Mr Joan Groizard, emphasised during a dialogue on Jan 11 that it is important for countries to recognise the importance of international cooperation.

“The climate emergency knows no borders, the value chains are going to continue to be global... recognising the value of multilateralism, a rules-based international order is worth reaffirming and restating,” he said.

Maldives’ Minister for Tourism and Environment, Mr Thoriq Ibrahim, said small island developing states such as the Pacific islands and states in the Carribean can work closely together to drive their energy transition.

Noting how small island developing states face common constraints, such as having a smaller grid, and facing higher costs and climate risks, he said that regional collaboration can help to pool projects to attract investors and facilitate sharing of technical knowledge.

“We don’t need identical solutions, but (we need) aligned frameworks to all the islands,” Mr Ibrahim said at a dialogue on Jan 10.

“With the right investment tools, regional solidarity and practical partnership, small island developing states can move faster than anyone expects.”

Dominica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Vince Henderson, said ongoing consultations and collaborations between these states are needed to have a stronger regional approach.

“We need strong partnerships moving forward, and in order for us to truly meet the targets that we have set, we need to build and strengthen our regional institutions... to ensure that all the member states can, with their own peculiarities, get the support that they need as we move forward to meeting our ambitions,” he said.

One way countries can collaborate to advance energy transition is through a regional power grid.

For example, South-east Asia is working towards the Asean power grid, which will allow countries in the region to trade electricity generated from renewable sources with one another, cut their reliance on fossil fuel and strengthen regional energy resilience.

In a separate dialogue on Jan 11, Ms Agnes Koh, deputy director of international relations at Singapore’s Energy Market Authority, said subsea cables are needed to link renewable energy sources to demand centres across the archipelagic region.

“This becomes a bit of a challenge for us because we have run into the lack of clarity on regulations and policy on the cross-border power trade using subsea cables,” she said, adding that a framework put together by Asean in 2025 will help to seek more clarity on project approvals and passage of subsea cables in the region.

“We also hope to then, through this framework, provide investors with the confidence to support large-scale infrastructure projects and to provide necessary financing to realise them.”