Opinions

Soaring Energy Prices Stunt Decarbonisation in the Indian Power Sector
12 August 2022
By Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Director of Research Strategy and Innovation: India is the world’s second largest coal importer. It also imports 80 per cent of …

Offsetting Our Carbon Footprint: A Way to Make Everyday Earth Day
22 April 2022
By Ms Dian Lutfiana and Ms Citra Endah Nur Setyawati, Research Associate: Since 1970, the world has celebrated Earth Day every year on 22 April …

Japan’s Carbon Neutrality Challenge
09 December 2021
By Prof Jun Arima, Senior Policy Fellow for Energy and Environment: As the world enters the implementation phase of the Paris Agreement, countries are increasingly …

The Economics of COP 26: How to Mobilize the Trillion Dollars to Meet the Net Zero Targets?
30 November 2021
By Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Director of Research Strategy and Innovation, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA): The COP 26 has come and …

COP26 and the End of Coal: ASEAN needs a plan
23 November 2021
By Dr Han Phoumin, Senior Energy Economist: Among the immediate results of COP26 in Glasgow is a strong commitment by at least 23 nations to …

Can Glasgow COP 26 Save the Planet? Transforming Climate Fatigue into People Centric Climate Actions
04 November 2021
By Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Director of Research Strategy and Innovation, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA): The 26th Session of the Conference …

Three Point Pathway for Promoting Sustainable Palm Oil Production and Trade
01 July 2021
By Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Director of Research Strategy and Innovation: Since its inception for commercial purposes in early 1900s, palm oil has been promoted …

Reclaiming Pragmatism in Japan’s Energy Policy
03 April 2021
By Prof Jun Arima, Senior Policy Fellow for Energy and Environment: In March 2021, Japan marked ten years since the 3/11 Great East Japan Earthquake …

Synchronizing Indonesia’s Diesel Fuel Policy
28 January 2021
By Dr Alloysius Joko Purwanto, Energy Economist: Indonesia aims to achieve two main objectives in its road transport fuel policy: first to protect health by …

ACRF: Potential Green Recovery, New Social Contract Towards Sustainable ASEAN Future
10 December 2020
By Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Energy Economist: With the outbreak of COVID-19, ASEAN member states are now in the middle of dealing with a combination …

Revisiting Indonesia’s Bioethanol Transport Fuel Policy
10 October 2020
By Dr Alloysius Joko Purwanto, ERIA's Energy Economist: By 2025, Indonesia aims to increase its renewable energy share to 23 percent for transportation in line …

What ASEAN’s Future Energy Landscape will Hold post-COVID-19?
26 September 2020
By Dr Han Phoumin, Senior Energy Economist For the past two decades, ASEAN has achieved remarkable progress in the energy sector in terms of the …

Building Energy Efficiency To Employ ASEAN People
01 August 2020
By Dr Han Phoumin, Senior Energy Economist and Ir Leong Siew Meng: The world has been struggling with the COVID-19 outbreak which has already damaged …

Scaling Renewable Energy in ASEAN: Hydrogen as the Missing Piece
23 July 2020
By Dr Han Phoumin, Senior Energy Economist: Recent international headlines have been declaring the potential of hydrogen to solve some of the key issues that …

Indonesia and Philippines are Smart to Make Nuclear Power Plans
12 July 2020
By Prof Jun Arima, Senior Policy Fellow for Energy and Environment: Even though critics say building nuclear power plants is an expensive and environmentally …

Hydrogen: A Game-Changer for ASEAN
25 June 2020
By Dr Han Phoumin, Senior Energy Economist: For the past two decades, hydrogen has rarely been mentioned by proponents of renewable energy although it …

From Containment to Recovery: Rescuing the ASEAN from Crisis
28 May 2020
By Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Energy Economist: The upcoming 36th ASEAN Summit will take place against the backdrop of severely damaged business and investor confidence …

Saudi oil attack is wake-up call for Asian economies
19 September 2019
By Prof Jun Arima, Senior Policy Fellow for Energy and Environment: On September 14, drone attacks -- claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels -- hit …

Can Electric Vehicles Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Indonesia?
26 August 2019
By Dr Alloysius Joko Purwanto, Energy Economist: People living in the urban areas of Indonesia may soon see plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) running on their …

Hydrogen for ASEAN Countries’ Clean Energy Transition in Road Transport Sector
14 May 2019
By Dr Yanfei Li: The road transport sector faces challenges in both energy security and environmental concern According to International Energy Agency (IEA), the …

Tariffs a threat to clean energy future of Asia
14 December 2018
Delegates from around the world have gathered in Katowice, Poland, to discuss how to curb greenhouse gas emissions in order to realize the goals enshrined …
Hydrogen on the rise as clean fuel
01 October 2018
Market conditions, gains in technology build momentum for a crucial role for the gas in the future energy landscape Hydrogen has long been widely applied …

Saving the Planet and Making Profit: A Nexus Governance Approach for ASEAN
28 June 2018
ASEAN has put together an ambitious sustainable development agenda with its 2025 community vision. It has also played an important role in shaping the United …

Australia and Japan’s Light Bulb Moment
12 March 2018
The future of Australia-Japan energy cooperation will be increasingly shaped by the growing demands of their Asian neighbours, Venkatachalam Anbumozhi writes. Current energy cooperation between …

Benefits of Increasing Emission Standards for Coal-fired Power Plants in ASEAN beyond Environment and Health
02 October 2017
By Han Phoumin The East Asia Summit region depends heavily on coal, given its abundance, as a reliable energy source. Coal use patterns around the …

Solar Power for Poor Rural Households in ASEAN: Lessons from Cambodia
30 June 2017
By Han Phoumin In an innovative initiative to increase access to electrical power, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has adopted a rural electrification master …

The Next Revolution of Energy: Energy as Services
30 May 2017
By Yanfei Li Modern life can be characterized as a constant quest for energy. We make it a daily routine to refill our gas tanks, …

Is the United States Ceding the Climate and Clean Energy Leadership to China?
26 May 2017
By Venkatachalam Anbumozhi What happens if the United States (US) is not ready to lead the world on Climate Change and the Clean Energy Transition? …

Reforming Fossil Fuel Subsidies in ASEAN, India, and China
18 May 2017
By Han Phoumin Energy is heavily subsidised across the globe and energy subsidies exert an extensive economic burden on many countries, particularly on developing economies. …

How to Unlock the Potentials of ASEAN's Private Sector for the Great Energy Transition?
11 May 2017
By Venkatachalam Anbumozhi South East Asian countries are faced with a set of interconnected yet fundamental energy transition dilemmas. The region's rapidly industrialising economies, intensifying …

Propelling ASEAN towards Clean Coal Technology
11 May 2017
By Han Phoumin Coal, the most abundant and reliable energy resource, will continue to be the dominant energy source in power generation to meet the …

Electrifying Emerging ASEAN through Off-grid Distributed Renewable Energy Systems
30 April 2017
By Han Phoumin Some 134 million people in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region do not have access to electricity (IEA and ERIA, …