(APNETT) Second Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Network of Energy Think Tanks - United Nations ESCAP
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Second Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Network of Energy Think Tanks
(APNETT)
Wednesday 2nd June 2021 (virtual)
12:00 – 14:30h (BKK)
Meeting Summary
Summary
The Asia-Pacific Network of Energy Think-Tanks (APNETT) convenes academic institutions, think tanks,
universities and not-for-profit entities to facilitate exchange on energy topics and develop collaborative
research on energy issues identified by ESCAP’s Secretariat and its member States through
intergovernmental processes.
While the network plans to hold regular face-to-face meetings in future, ongoing travel restrictions due
to the COVID-19 pandemic required that the second meeting – on 2 June 2021 – be held virtually. Views
and suggestions of APNETT members were sought on the plans for the network and on a number of
emerging issues in the Asia-Pacific energy transition.
Objectives
The deliberations of the meeting sought the following objectives:
1. Re-engage APNETT members following the first meeting of the network in July 2020.
2. Elect office-bearers.
3. Discuss outcomes of recent studies:
a. COVID-19 and the future of energy in the Asia-Pacific; and
b. Enhancing energy security in the context of the coronavirus disease pandemic for a
greener, more resilient and inclusive energy future in the region.
4. Plan future collaborative research between the ESCAP secretariat and APNETT memebrs.
Proceedings
1. Administrative Matters
Hongpeng Liu, Director of the ESCAP Energy Division welcomed the participants, noting the challenges
of the ongoing sustainable energy transition in the context of recovery from the global COVID-19
pandemic, and reiterating the purpose of the network to support work towards the transition.
Michael Williamson, Section Chief of the ESCAP Energy Division and APNETT Secretariat served as
Moderator for the first agenda item, leading a summary of the revised APNETT Terms of Reference which
have now been formally adopted by the Secretariat.
Following the adoption of the Agenda, the Secretariat opened the floor for new members to introduce
themselves. The following members provided their introductions:
1• Kathryn Bowen, University of Melbourne
• Bill Hare and Anna Chapman, Climate Analytics
• David Broadstock, Energy Studies Institute, Singapore
• Muendao Suandee, GIZ
• Ubaid-Ur-Rehman Zia, SDPI
• departing: Phillip Andrews-Speed, Energy Studies Institute, Singapore
The Secretariat oversaw the election of a Chair and Vice-Chair who will guide the network for the next
twelve months. Dr Han Phoumin, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and and Dr
David Wogan, Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) were respectively nominated by Xunpeng Shi,
University of Sydney as Chair and Vice-Chair. The nomination was seconded by Dr Adrian Panow, Deakin
University.
2. Item 1: Summary of recent work by ESCAP members
Dr Han Phoumin, Chair led the discussion for the first agenda item, introducing David Ferrari of UN
ESCAP to provide an overview of recent ESCAP knowledge products. These documents are available on
the ESCAP website.
Dr Bill Hare, founder and CEO of Climate Analytics summarised recent work undertaken on behalf of an
Issue-Based Coalition of UN entities (which ESCAP is a part) investigating the Phase-out of coal and the
energy transition pathways for the Asia-Pacific region. Highlights of the study include that:
• Coal is still expanding in the Asia-Pacific region, which makes up 75 per cent of the global coal
development pipeline.
• The is incompatible with globally agreed meet climate goals. To achieve our climate targets, we
need fossil fuel use to peak soon and decline rapidly. This includes reducing to low levels of coal
use by 2030, with complete phasing out in Asia-Pacific by the late 2030s.
• A dependence on coal exports for some countries create incentives to continue or expand coal
use.
• The work shows that it is feasible to achieve the Paris-compatible pathway, and that alternatives
(renewables) provide a host of additional benefits including access, security, employment, air
quality, health and agriculture.
• The report’s recommendations include adoption of best practice policies.
• Financial support is critical as, despite the economic competitiveness of cleaner options, there are
still barriers to change which finance can alleviate.
• There is significant further need for international cooperation on engagement with stakeholders,
trans-boundary grid connectivity, cooperation on finance, etc.
• Recent developments included: G7 commitments to phase-out coal by 2030, Bangladesh
scrapping plans for new coal, IEA call for an end to new fossil fuel developments this year as part
of a roadmap to net zero by 2050.
• The frontiers for further research work include moving the discussion away from gas – renewable
energy is fundamental to a sustainable future and needs to replace fossil fuels very rapidly.
• Wind and solar + storage is now cost competitive with all fossil fuels.
• Progress towards the phase-out of coal is being made, but we are still not on track. If countries
2fully implement their current net zero announcements, we will ONLY JUST achieve the 2°C goal.
Dr Hina Aslam, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) summarised the study COVID-19 and the
future of energy in the Asia-Pacific, which was undertaken on behalf of ESCAP and discussed by APNETT
at its inception meeting in 2020:
• Given the uncertainties of the global pandemic, the study attempts to make broad generalisations
based on detailed analyses in three countries.
• The results showed trends of economic growth and unemployment which were strongly impacted
by COVID-19 in 2020.
• We also saw shifts in electricity demand growth (reduced) and energy productivity (which
increased due to behavioural shifts).
• There exists potential to generate over 65 million new low-carbon jobs by 2030, with $26 trillion
in net economic benefits.
• Examples of progress include green infrastructure development funds, and power tariff relief in
Brunei Darussalam, Thailand and Viet Nam.
• SDPI modelled under a range of scenarios to look at economic growth, energy demand (by sector)
GHG emissions and other parameters which all show drastic change in the initial COVID-19 year
that carries forward into the future.
• The future energy mix is heavily dependent on policies.
• The full effect of the pandemic is not yet clear.
• Risk aversion may raise the cost of finance, which would impact renewables.
Opening the floor to discussion of other relevant work, APNETT members described the following
developments:
Adrian Panow, Deakin University provided an update on the Deakin University project which is now
operating with 7.5 MW generation + 7.5MWh storage behind the meter. Construction of the
demonstration within the campus has been invaluable for academics to observe the project in practice.
Phillip Andrews-Speed, National University of Singapore led a study on the Resilience of Renewable
Energy in Asia Pacific to the COVID‑19 Pandemic, which analysed 7 countries in Asia. This will be closely
relevant to the SDPI study described earlier. The full report is available at
https://www.kas.de/en/web/recap/single-title/-/content/resilience-of-renewable-energy-in-asia-pacific-
to-the-covid-19-pandemic
Atul Raturi, University of the South Pacific noted that the unique archipelagic aspects of the Pacific mean
that resilience has always been a challenge, even before COVID, and that USP has valuable experience in
this area.
33. Item 2: Energy Security
Dr Han Phoumin, Chair introduced Dr Frank Umbach, European Cluster for Climate, Energy and Resource
Security, Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies at the University of Bonn to
discuss the report Enhancing energy security in the context of COVID-19 which was undertaken on behalf
of ESCAP. He highlighted the following aspects:
• Until 2010, evolutions of the energy sector were quite predictable, but expansion of
unconventional oil and gas, along with renewables, created a range of unanticipated challenges
which are still relevant today.
• COVID-19 is a key to the discussion on security, putting further pressure on prices and supply,
deepening structural problems in oil and gas producing countries, and uncertainty around how
long the pandemic will last.
• COP26 and new directions in US Policy will produce political pressure for more ambitious and
rapid change, as will rapidly decreasing prices in renewable generation, battery storage etc.,
but there is a growing divide between Western OECD Countries and the rest of the world.
• The introduction of new technology brings with it new risks for energy supply and vulnerability.
• There are overlooked political risks of renewable energy – critical raw materials are becoming
more important, both for generation and for batteries. Note the importance of a “circular
economy” and raw material supplies are becoming an integral part of t6he energy security
discussion.
• Hydrogen offers an attractive opportunity for flexible supply to industry. Brings potential geo-
political/dependency issues (among others) – supply lines, value chains, new actors etc.
• There is a risk of political attraction to “energy nationalism” instead of cooperative efforts.
• There is a need to put more effort towards addressing “hidden” (system) costs – in addition to
costs of the technology, we must consider the entire energy system including indirect costs of
supporting and integrating new technology.
4. Item 3: Research priorities to support sustainable energy development
Michael Williamson, Secretary led a discussion amongst members which covered the identification of
research priorities, potential funding opportunities and prioritisation of research concepts. He noted
potential for cooperation across 5 areas of focus:
1. SDG7 roadmaps
2. Capacity-building support
3. Assessment of EV potential
4. Promoting sustainable cooling best practice in ASEAN
5. Supporting countries to phase-out coal
He also noted several common themes which emerge from ESCAP’s SDG7 Roadmaps, covering both
demand- and supply-sides of the energy sector:
• Adoption of electric cooking
• EE through MEPS
• Electrification of transport
4• Increasing fuel economy standards
• EE in industry
• Coal phase-out
• Adoption of Renewable Energy Auctions
Finally, he noted the potential roles for members of APNETT which include identification of research and
data, guidance of development of research questions and project scope, delivery of research on a
consultancy basis, provision of linkages between institutions, and peer-review of each others’ work.
An open discussion amongst members then suggested the following potential research directions:
• Research to better understand the constraints/motivations of investors and stakeholders who
continue to invest in areas that appear non-viable (e.g. coal)
• The intersection between the priorities of countries and the focus of ESCAP.
• Potential to introduce a competitive prize, rather than awarding a grant – this would be
relatively low value compared to cost of a consultancy-style project and would urge a larger
number of researchers towards the problems of interest.
• Research to quantify the use of cool storage to make use of generation surpluses.
Michael Williamson, Secretary suggested that further contributions to this discussion can be made by
email to ESCAP.
6. Item 4: Closing summary and next steps
Dr Han Phoumin (Chair) and Dr David Wogan (Vice-Chair) provided a brief summary outline of the
meeting which was closed by Michael Williamson (Secretary) with a vote of thanks to members of
APNETT.
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