Southeast Asia Needs US$2.5 Trillion Investment To Secure Energy Needs: IEA

By Rosemarie Khoo Mohd Sani KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- Southeast Asia will require US$2.5 trillion of investment in energy-supply infrastructure for the period up to 2040 to secure its energy needs, said International Energy Agency (IEA) director of energy markets and security, Keisuke Sadamori. He said ASEAN would need to ensure that financial flow for investments is secured with a transparent and predictable investment framework because regulatory and policy uncertainties would deter investments coming into the region. "We understand that this region has been fairly good in attracting investments, about US$70 billion in 2014, but the countries need to do more to make sure that the needed investment takes place to respond to the growing demand. "The reliability and sustainability of the region's energy system depends on investments, but for this to materialise, we need to see more progress with reforms to domestic energy markets," he told Bernama after the launch of the World Energy Outlook (WEO) Special Report on Southeast Asia here Thursday. Earlier, Sadamori presented the WEO Special Report which highlighted that greater integration of the region's energy market could help catalyse development of energy resources, facilitate more efficient use of the region's resources and enhance energy security. However, he urged more progress in expanding energy access, saying 120 million people remain without access to electricity while almost 280 million people lack clean cooking facilities. The report also calls for more efforts to reduce subsidies for fossil fuels, noting that the region spent US$36 billion on fossil-fuel subsidies in 2014 despite reforms in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar. The WEO Special Report, prepared in collaboration with the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), analysed four key issues that would shape the region's energy system for the future. Meanwhile in a statement, the report also revealed that Malaysia's energy demand would almost double by 2040 with fossil fuels continuing to meet over 90 per cent of demand throughout the period, with coal overtaking oil and gas to become the primary fuel in Malaysia's energy mix. "Renewables, aided by government policies and incentives, will grow, especially in the power sector where their share of generation reaches 16 per cent by 2040. "Malaysia's role in the international markets will shift as it becomes increasingly dependent on imports," it said. --BERNAMA