Cooperation seen key to Asia energy transition

Region needs multifaceted collaboration to advance shift to zero-carbon electricity, Boao forum hears

Multi-dimensional and comprehensive cooperation in Asia, in terms of policies, industry regulations, technologies and market mechanisms, is vital to help advance the journey toward zero-carbon electricity, experts said as a new report on green transition was unveiled on March 26.

The report, titled "Sustainable Development: Asia and the World Annual Report 2024 — Striding Towards Zero-Carbon Electricity Era and Bolstering Green Development in Asia", was released on the opening of day of the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference in Boao, China's Hainan province.

Participants in the event said the report suggests that carbon price can become an important component of the electricity pricing mechanism in future.

The release of the report has great significance at this moment as Asia has both the world's largest energy demand and greatest carbon emissions, with rising electricity consumption, said Nishant Bhardwaj, director of Green Investment Services of the Global Green Growth Institute, an international intergovernmental organization based in Seoul, South Korea.

"We all know that the power industry becomes the major force in pushing towards the realization of global net-zero carbon dioxide emissions, and the central role of electricity in this has become more and more prominent," said Zhang Lin, director of Department of Planning and Development, China Electricity Council.

Cao Li, vice-president of the Boao Forum for Asia Academy, or BFA Academy, said that on the path to zero-carbon electricity, apart from international collaboration, Asia can also rely on its abundant natural resource endowment and robust clean technology manufacturing capacities, as well as its substantial investments in clean energy. She added that carbon pricing can be integrated with the reform of the electricity market.

Dora Liu, member of Deloitte Asia-Pacific Board and Deloitte China deputy CEO, noted that Asia was the hottest region for clean power investment in the world in 2023, with a total investment of $373 billion and accounting for more than half of the global investment in clean power.

"At the same time, we also see that Asian countries have broad applications of the key technologies of zero-carbon power, and we expect Asian countries to further expand investment in those technologies in the future, to strengthen cooperation and dialogue, and to work together towards a new era of zero-carbon power," she said.

Zhou Qiangwu, vice-president and chief administrative officer of New Development Bank, the Shanghai-based multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states, said there are still numerous challenges that confront Asia in achieving energy transformation.

"Facing the issues of climate change and energy supply, countries, especially those in Asia, cannot deal with the problems alone," he said.

"Only through cooperation can we build a greener future," Zhou said. "It is encouraging that Asian countries have implemented practical collaboration on green power, at all levels, and achieved good results."