Southeast Asia needs $190B a year by 2030 to meet climate goals

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - Total energy investment, including local and international financing, in Southeast Asian nations need to reach $190 billion a year by 2030 to meet the region's climate targets, according a new report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday.

Such an investment level represents an increase from around $70 billion a year between 2016 and 2020.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol called for governments in the region, described as an "emerging heavyweight of global energy" to hasten efforts to transition to sustainable energy given the speed of its economic development and the growing energy security challenges.

The region relies mostly on fossil fuels to meet rising energy demand, which is "proving to be a significant vulnerability in today's energy crisis," the agency said.

An accelerated transition to sustainable energy in the region would cut carbon emissions (CO2) and fossil fuel imports, as well as speed up universal access to electricity and clean cooking.

Energy demand in the region is set to grow by around 3% a year to 2030, with three-quarters of that increased demand being met by fossil fuels, pushing CO2 emissions up 35% from 2020 levels, according to the IEA.