BY SAARANI VENGADESEN
KUALA LUMPUR: With rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in Asia, there is a great appetite for newer clean energy sources. By 2030 the continent will see a 100% increase in demand and to meet this challenge will be a daunting task.
Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim issued this caution in his speech during the recently concluded Energy Asia Conference 2023 hosted here. The conference themed “Charting Pathways for a Sustainable Asia” was attended by 3,000 delegates from 27 nations.
“Striking a balance between the energy trilemma which are energy security, affordability, and sustainability will be the key to ensure a smoother energy transition in Asia” the prime minister highlighted.
He announced two roadmaps that will guide Malaysia’s energy transition goals during his speech. “The two roadmaps are The National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and the Hydrogen Economy and Technology Roadmap (HETR), targeted for rollout later this year.”
He said the NETR will lay out the overarching strategy and initiatives to ramp up the energy transition efforts, whereas the HETR will complement NETR, by paving the way towards achieving an environmentally sustainable, long-term energy security in Malaysia, that will be driven by technological innovation.
Anwar also said Malaysia would continue to see natural gas playing a pivotal role in energy transition as it is one of the cleanest burning fossil fuels.
“Despite, expediting the energy transition, we highly recognise the importance of managing methane emissions as a potent climate pollutant as we are committed to the Global Methane Pledge to reduce 30% of methane emissions by 2030,” he added.
The conference also saw stakeholder dialogues that brought to the table issues such as; different pathways for countries to secure more energy with lower emissions, manage methane emissions, deliver global carbon commitments, and innovate emission reduction technologies.
Petronas President and group CEO Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik, also took to the podium saying: “Energy transition is a journey of change that cannot be achieved overnight. It is daunting, complex, and not linear. More must be done to bring to bear all the solutions that we have available to us. We cannot do this alone,” he said.
On the sidelines of the conference, Dr Asleena Dato Helmi, a representative from Sarawak Energy told The Petri Dish: “Sarawak is rising as a hydrogen energy provider. Hydroenergy is our forte and niche area since we are blessed with around 300 rivers. We are also exploring floating solar as another renewable energy alternative.”
Ir Magdalene Chu Wai Quan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer 1, Energy Commission of Sabah who was also present said: “Sabah state is currently developing its Sabah Energy Roadmap and Master Plan. The roadmap focuses on the energy trilemmas and optimising renewable energy. Sabah is endowed with an abundance of renewable energy sources that are still untapped”.
