Summary Reader Response (Draft 3)
The article by Tim Daubach (2019) “How can Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition be sped up?” highlights the lack of urgency in Southeast Asia’s development of renewable energy and identifies possible solutions to the constraints faced by the region. According to the article, one major obstacle preventing the widespread implementation of renewable energy is due to the heterogeneous collection of cultures. In order to circumvent this, a calibrated approach to each specific area is recommended. For areas with land constraints, using nuclear fusion to generate electricity has huge upsides as it is free of emissions and requires little space. However, finding alternative sources of renewable energy is not enough if the region does not reduce its energy consumption to reduce the rate of climate change. Furthermore, integrating policymaking with sustainable energy goals can help to provide a platform for the sector to grow and spur economic growth as well. With Southeast Asia being a developing region growing in both population size and economic development, the limited availability of sustainable energy has not been sufficient to supply the growing energy demand, leading to a slow transition to sustainable energy.
First and foremost, Southeast Asia must
recognise that with varying standards of living, the switch to sustainable
energy has to be tailored according to the specific regions' needs and
constraints. As highlighted by Delina, L. L. (2019), developing countries would
need assistance in the infrastructure required to transit to sustainable
energy. Without the infrastructure, the people in developing countries will
continue to use readily available non-renewable energy sources such as coal and
wood. Hence, for Southeast Asia to move towards sustainable energy, the region
has to provide help to developing countries to ensure that renewable energy
becomes accessible and also at a low-cost, thus allowing the general population
to adopt it.
Moving forward, renewable energy like
nuclear fusion has promising prospects in the sustainable energy industry as it
occupies a small area and produces zero emission. Nian, V. (2015) identified
that utilising nuclear energy can help support the region’s need for increased
energy production while having a significantly smaller environmental impact, as
renewable energy such as hydropower will not be sufficient to fuel the region's
economic growth due to lack of proper infrastructure. However, due to the
nuclear power plant accidents, Southeast Asian countries are still wary of nuclear
power and are reluctant to adopt it.
Besides energy production, energy
consumption is equally important as energy wastage leads to excess carbon
emissions. To prevent energy wastage, the region should promote the use of
appliances and equipment that are energy efficient. By adopting efficient
energy usage, it can reduce the strain in energy production while the region transitions
to renewable energy production. In fact, efficient energy use is the easiest
step in reducing carbon footprint because it does not require major
infrastructure changes or a large capital.
Lastly, the change towards a
sustainable future must begin with proactive measures from the governments in
the region to support the growth of sustainable energy. Erdiwansyah et al.
(2019) state that with suitable government interventions, it is possible to
solve energy scarcity even among rural areas and at the same time it can
support the local economy and in turn improve the standard of living. With ease
of access to the market, it will entice foreign investors to invest in the
country as well and boost economic growth.
As Southeast Asia continues expanding,
it is important that the region does so sustainably. The unique constraints
faced by the region must be tackled contextually and while the region explores
breakthrough technology, it should take the first step towards a sustainable
future through energy conservation and implementing policies that support
growth in the sustainable energy sector.
(Word Count: 618 words)
References
Delina, L. L. (2019). Accelerating sustainable energy
transition(s) in developing countries. Routledge.
Erdiwansyah, Mamat, R., Sani, M. S. ., &
Sudhakar, K. (2019). Renewable energy in Southeast Asia: Policies and
recommendations. The Science of the Total Environment, 670, 1095–1102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.273
Nian, V. (2015). Progress in Nuclear Power
Technologies and Implications for ASEAN. Energy Procedia, 75, 2852–2858.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.571
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