Southeast Asia must increase investments by five times to achieve climate goals by 2035, according to the IEA

International Energy Agency stated on Tuesday that Southeast Asia must increase its clean energy investment to $190 billion by 2035, or five times current levels, to achieve climate goals.

The IEA stated in a recent report that increasing energy investments must be accompanied with strategies to reduce emissions at the relatively new fleet of coal-fired power plants.

The report also stated that the rapid expansion of the economy would pose a challenge to energy security and climate change goals.

The closure of coal power plants, supported by wealthy Western nations, in emerging markets is being delayed after the July deadline for a pilot project in Indonesia was not met.

The IEA reports that the electricity demand in Southeast Asia will grow by 4% annually in the next few years. Clean energy sources like wind, solar and modern bioenergy, along with geothermal and geothermal energy, are projected to account for more than a quarter of the increase in energy demand within the region.

It says that reducing the energy-related CO2 emissions in the region, which are expected to rise by 35% from now until mid-century, would still not be sufficient.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said that "Clean Energy Technologies are not expanding fast enough. The continued heavy reliance upon fossil fuel imports leaves countries exposed to future risk."

According to the report, the region as a group attracts just 2% of all global investments in clean energy, despite representing 6% of the global GDP, 5% global energy demand, and 9% of world population.

The IEA stated that to expand and modernise the region's electricity grids in order to support a greater share of renewable energy, annual investments will need to double by 2035 to reach nearly $30 billion. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise; Florence Tan)

(source: Reuters)