This episode of Energy Insights critically examines the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), an initiative aimed at advancing decarbonisation across 11 countries in Asia and the Pacific. While AZEC aspires to promote regional collaboration and sustainable energy development, its dependence on fossil fuel-based technologies, including LNG, CCS, and ammonia co-firing, raises important questions about its alignment with decarbonisation goals.

Drawing on insights from the Asia Zero Emission Community’s Fossil Fuel Dependency report, the discussion explores the environmental, economic, and policy challenges impeding Asia’s energy transition. Topics include the region’s vast renewable energy potential, such as Indonesia’s significant solar capacity and Vietnam’s progress in wind energy, alongside the pressing need to prioritise renewables and phase out fossil fuels.

Offering actionable strategies, the episode highlights how robust policies, regional collaboration, and technological innovation can drive Asia towards a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.

This episode of Energy Insights explores the contrasts shaping Asia’s renewable energy landscape. With surging energy demands and immense potential for renewable transformation, Asia is both a challenge and an opportunity in the global energy transition.

The discussion focuses on the successes of countries like China, India, and Vietnam, where ambitious policies and investments are driving renewable energy progress. It also examines the obstacles faced by nations such as Indonesia and Pakistan, highlighting the critical barriers of policy inconsistencies, financing challenges, and reliance on fossil fuels.

Strategies for bridging these gaps are also discussed, including regional collaboration, policy innovation, and technological advancements that can accelerate the region’s shift towards a sustainable energy future.

COP29 has concluded in Baku, Azerbaijan, leaving the global community to grapple with its outcomes. In this episode of Energy Insights, we take a deep dive into the critical takeaways from this year’s UN Climate Change Conference. Was it the pivotal moment we hoped for, or yet another missed opportunity in the fight against climate change?

The discussion covers the ongoing challenges with climate finance, including the failure to meet the $100 billion annual commitment, and examines the persistent influence of fossil fuel lobbies, which continues to hinder progress on binding commitments to phase out fossil fuels. We also explore the fragile state of the 1.5°C target and the disconnect between global pledges and the urgent need for ambitious climate goals.

Additionally, we analyse the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund—a step forward for climate justice, though it raises critical unanswered questions about funding and implementation. Finally, we look ahead to what the future holds for global climate action and the role COP30 will play in shaping the next chapter of this urgent global effort.

With the clock ticking on climate action, this episode provides an in-depth analysis of COP29’s progress and pitfalls, leaving us to question whether the world is truly ready to take the bold steps required.

Energy Insights speaks with Teresa Anderson, the global climate justice lead at ActionAid International, about all things climate finance in the run-up to COP29 in Azerbaijan.

We talked about a broad range of climate finance-related topics that include the $100 billion a year promise, loss and damage finance, the contentious relationships between countries at climate negotiations, expanding the public finance donor based to other high-income countries, fossil fuel levies, issues related to increasing taxes to raise more funds for climate finance, and the implications on COP29 in Azerbaijan.

Teresa Anderson is the Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid International. She leads the ActionAid federation’s climate work on policy, programs and campaigns.

X (Twitter): @1TeresaAnderson

LinkedIn: Teresa Anderson

Energy Insights speaks with Abdul Waheed Bhutto. Abdul Waheed Bhutto is an academic researcher and the Pro Vice Chancellor at Dawood University of Engineering and Technology in Pakistan.
He has authored numerous publications and secured significant research grants, in the field of sustainable energy, renewable resources, and biomass utilisation. He established the Biomass Conversion and Green Chemicals Recovery Technology laboratory, received Research Productivity Awards.
We spoke about Pakistan's ongoing energy crisis, the main energy sources in Pakistan, the failures of government policy to ensure stable energy supplies and the impacts on the wider economy.

W: https://www.waheedbhutto.com/
LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/y8s4u8vt

Energy Insights speaks with Mark Hutchinson, the director and chair of the Southeast Asia Task Force at the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

In this interview, we delve into a recent report published by GWEC about the potential of offshore wind and its impact on South Korea's economy. We also explore the challenges facing offshore wind, the supply chain implications for the offshore wind industry in South Korea, the response to the pushback by local fishing communities, and strategies for wind developers to ensure the success of their projects with local populations.

Mark has over 30 years of experience in the energy sector. He is an expert in strategic advice, finance, M&A, contract negotiations, and due diligence in the power and, renewables and oil and gas sectors. Mark works with GWEC members in Asia and globally to represent the wind industry in regional policy and regulatory discussions. He is also an economist with a master's in public policy from Harvard University in energy regulation.

GWEC Website: gwec.net

APAC Wind Energy Summit Website: apacwindenergysummit.kr

GWEC is present on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads at @globalwindenergycouncil, and X is present at @GWECGlobalWind.

In this episode of Energy Insights, we recap the G7's climate commitments and the G7 environment ministers' meeting in Turin, Italy. Topics include the pressure leading up to the meeting and summit and what the world's most powerful economies were doing to tackle climate change.
Other topics include what the G7 is doing about coal, the worries around the G7's coal phaseout timeline, the continued endorsement of gas as a bridge fuel, the G7's climate finance commitments, existing climate finance goals, and what COP29 may hold.

Energy Insights speaks with Liming Qiao, the Asia Director at the Global Wind Energy Council.

Our conversation with Liming Qiao delves into a range of crucial topics. We explore the ambitious goal of tripling renewable energy capacity, the potential supply chain challenges for renewable rollouts in Asia, and the role of governments and the private sector in incentivising secure supply chains. We also discuss the complex issue of job losses in the fossil fuel industry as the world transitions to renewables and the potential of clean energy to offset these losses, and GWECs APAC Wind Energy Summit.

Liming has been working on climate and energy policy since 2003. She has worked with major industry and institutional stakeholders active in Southeast Asia in the renewable energy sector, which is advancing wind energy policy across the region. She's also worked with other international organisations and has participated in climate negotiations as an observer for several years.

LinkedIn: Liming Qiao
X (Twitter): @GWECGlobalWind
Web: GWEC