Honourable Ministers and Excellencies of the IEA Family,
Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. A very good morning to all of you. It is a tremendous pleasure to welcome you to the Singapore-International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial Forum at the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW).
2. This is the 8th time we have held the Ministerial Forum, but the first time we are doing so after having launched the IEA Regional Cooperation Centre in Singapore. Thank you, IEA.
3. This is a milestone for the IEA, for Southeast Asia, and for Singapore. It marks a new chapter for the IEA on the year of its 50th anniversary and is the first centre outside the IEA’s HQ in Paris. The centre’s location in Southeast Asia also underscores the region’s importance in the global energy transition and signals the IEA’s commitment to helping the entire region decarbonise. The regional centre is also the first energy-focused international organisation in Singapore.
4. I would like to express my deepest appreciation and thanks to Dr Birol for his visionary leadership and strong support in making this Centre a reality. All of this happened less than 24 months after the idea was first conceived.
5. I would also like to extend my deepest appreciation to all IEA Members for their steadfast support for the Centre. Some members have gone above and beyond by pledging funding to make the Centre a reality.
6. In this regard, I wish to acknowledge the contributions of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States. I also understand that members are also discussing seconding their officers to the Centre, which Singapore welcomes.
7. Last but not least, please join me in extending a warm welcome to the incoming Head of the IEA Regional Cooperation Centre, Ms Tan Sue-Ern. We look forward to her contributions and leadership of the Centre.
8. Energy demand in Southeast Asia is expected to grow by more than 60% by 2050, in tandem with economic growth. Yet, renewable energy only comprises just under 20% of the region’s energy mix. To realise our net-zero ambitions, we must act fast, and we must act now.
9. Let me offer three suggestions on how the IEA can support the region, by: accelerating Southeast Asia’s decarbonisation journey, advancing regional energy connectivity, and unlocking access to financing for the energy transition.
Accelerating Decarbonisation Strategies
10. First, most ASEAN Member States have committed to reaching net-zero by 2060 or earlier.
11. There are masterplans and strategies developed to help us get there. But how do we build the capabilities to execute on these ambitious plans?
12. This is where IEA’s expertise will be most relevant. They can help by providing both policy and technical advice to help countries understand how best to decarbonise, while maintaining energy security and keeping costs in check.
13. Take for example carbon capture and storage (CCS), which the IEA has acknowledged to be a viable and important decarbonsation pathway for hard-to-abate sectors. Our region is blessed with abundant CCS storage potential, that is waiting to be unlocked with the right mix of regulatory, policy and financing instruments.
14. We see both demand and supply forces at play, with countries like Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia well-positioned to be storage hubs, and other emitter-nations like Japan, South Korea and Singapore providing demand.
15. The IEA can help countries ascertain which low-carbon technologies and decarbonisation pathways to adopt, as well as how to align standards and certifications to ensure interoperability. All of this will be critical for collective regional decarbonisation.
Advancing Regional Energy Connectivity
16. Second, we hope the IEA can support the realisation of our vision of an ASEAN Power Grid (APG).
17. As a key regional initiative, the APG can enhance energy security while strengthening economic development and renewable energy investments in the region. This would support the region’s transition away from fossil fuels. The overall potential to unlock energy connectivity cannot be overstated.
18. The ASEAN Centre for Energy and Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities have jointly analysed that there can be approximately 30GW-worth of potential interconnections to support cross-border power trading.
19. If we can develop these interconnections, it will be a collective win for all Member States and will catalyse a clean energy revolution. I would like to add that this will not just be a win for ASEAN Member States. It will also be a collective win for Australia.
20. Singapore is doing its part to advance the region’s electricity trading journey.
21. As I announced earlier this morning, EMA will grant a Conditional Approval to Sun Cable to import up 1.75GW of low-carbon electricity from Australia’s Northern Territory to Singapore. This project will also be a meaningful complement to our plans for an ASEAN Power Grid, as it serves as an additional source of power not just for Singapore but eventually for the region.
22. But there is one essential prerequisite. For clean energy to power our homes and factories at scale, we will need to enhance our region’s transmission infrastructure.
23. This was why the ASEAN Energy Ministers, at our meeting in Vientiane last month, agreed to prioritise the development of an ASEAN framework on subsea power cables.
24. Just as we have prioritised economic integration in ASEAN, we should work together with the IEA to advance energy integration within the region. And we welcome other partners from beyond the region to support our efforts too.
Unlocking Access to Financing for the Energy Transition
25. Lastly, to harness Southeast Asia's decarbonisation potential, we must also mobilise financing towards supporting green and transition projects.
26. As a regional financial hub, Singapore stands ready to support the IEA’s work on green and transition finance. Under the IEA’s Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), average annual clean energy investment in Southeast Asia needs to almost double to US$130 billion by 2030, from the current US$72 billion over the last three years.
27. The IEA’s findings that Southeast Asia attracted the second-lowest level of investments in renewable energy globally over the past five years is also concerning. We must accelerate our investments in renewable energy.
28. The Centre is well-placed to work with both financial institutions and multilateral development banks in the region on initiatives that can give investors the clarity and confidence to commit capital to decarbonisation projects.
29. This can include the development of region- and country-contextualised decarbonisation pathways to serve as a credible reference for financial institutions to guide investment decisions for the energy transition.
Closing
30. In closing, it has been a pleasure to share the excitement of the IEA’s new chapter in Singapore with so many of the IEA family members today.
31. We have seen our partnership with the IEA grow from strength to strength, since Singapore assumed the role of Country Coordinator for ASEAN-IEA Energy Cooperation in 2011 and became an IEA Association Country in 2016.
32. Today, the IEA Forum remains one of the most popular programmes at SIEW, and the training programmes have benefitted more than 1500 participants from over 35 countries. This has been our first chapter together.
33. As we turn the page to the next chapter, I look forward to continued close collaboration to create a sustainable future for our children, and our children’s children.
34. It is my hope that their story will soon feature new milestones in Southeast Asia’s accelerated decarbonisation journey, advancements in regional energy connectivity, and the pathways that access to financing for the energy transition have unlocked.
35. Thank you once again and I wish everyone a productive Forum ahead.