From emission-intensive to investment hotspots: Championing renewables in 3 ASEAN economies

In October 2025, Bangkok hosted its first-ever Bangkok Climate Action Week (BKKCAW), a nine-day citywide initiative featuring more than 270 events across 60 venues. Conceived as a civic movement rather than a conventional conference, the week aimed to take climate action beyond expert and institutional circles, drawing in citizens, artists, youth, entrepreneurs, and policymakers alike.

Peter du Pont of SIPET Connect spoke with Leo Horn-Phathanothai, Founder and Executive Director of JUTI (Just Energy Transition Incubator) and a recently appointed Board Member of Greenpeace Southeast Asia (GPSEA).  JUTI organized BKKCAW in collaboration with a diverse and inclusive set of partner organizations. In the interview, Leo reflects on the ideas behind the event, the response it generated, and what it reveals about how Southeast Asia can build civic power and culture around the energy transition.

***

SIPET Connect: To start, could you share a bit about your background and how you came to work in energy, climate, and development, and how JUTI fits into that journey?

Leo: I’ve spent just over two decades at the intersection of environment and development, first as an environmental economist, then as a diplomat, a think-tank director, and in other technocratic organizations. What’s guided me from the start are two enduring passions: a love of nature, and an outrage at the persistence of poverty in a world of abundance. Those two things—love and outrage—shaped my sense of social justice and put me on this path.

In the first half of my career, I was often the lone environmentalist inside development institutions, trying to bring climate change and environmental issues into the center of the development agenda. In the second half, I worked from the other side, within environmental organizations, trying to bring people to the center of climate and environmental work. In short, always bridging climate and development concerns.

I founded JUTI early this year with the aim of localising ambitious action on climate and nature. We do three things: support high-potential local actors to grow their impact; orchestrate collaboration across a fragmented ecosystem; and work on the deep leverage points for systemic change, that is, narrative and culture, to help shift expectations of what’s possible. Bangkok Climate Action Week brings all three of those strands together in one space.

SIPET Connect: The inaugural Bangkok Climate Action Week was a huge success. What was the core vision behind it?

Leo: The vision is to build a movement. We wanted to take climate out of its narrow “climate box” and place it in a whole-of-society context. The goal was to activate people, to bring them into the climate action arena and give them greater ownership of a transition that is already underway. The question is no longer how to start the transition, but how to make sure it leads somewhere good and how to ensure it delivers benefits for everyone instead of being captured by incumbents.

That requires building civic power. We need strengthened public participation and engagement to shape the transition, build political demand for better, and redefine what kind of future we want to create together.

SIPET Connect: As an active participant in Bangkok Climate Action Week, one of the striking features I observed was how inclusive it felt. How did you design something that reached beyond the usual policy and industry audiences?

Leo: It started with how we built it. This wasn’t a top-down exercise led by one person; it was collective from the start. We created a diverse steering committee that included educators, architects, artists, policy experts, former ministers, agency heads, and youth activists. I’d tell them: if Bangkok Climate Action Week could reflect the diversity of this group, it would succeed. The heavy lifting was done by a multi-talented core team constituted by a similarly diverse group of individuals from diverse organizations, including III Muses, PXP Sustainability, Creative Migration, and Saunter Media.

We also designed it for those who are usually excluded, including children, older people, and those outside formal climate or policy spaces. It’s the same principle as city planning: if you design a city for the most vulnerable, you create one that works better for everyone. Radical inclusion was our design principle, and it led to richer conversations and new forms of collaboration.

SIPET Connect: What did you take away from the results?

Leo: Honestly, it exceeded my expectations. We focused on accessibility, bringing climate issues to people instead of expecting them to come to us. The outcome spoke for itself: around 270 events, and over 77 000 visitors. Every room I walked into was full. That level of turnout told us something powerful: there’s readiness, and a real hunger for this kind of civic space.

SIPET Connect: Why do you think the response was so strong?

Leo: Because people already care. Surveys everywhere show that concern about climate change is extremely high, often 90 per cent or more, but actual engagement remains low. That’s not apathy; it’s a lack of opportunity. When you open the space, people walk in. Thailand is no exception.

SIPET Connect: What were some of the most memorable outcomes or new collaborations that emerged?

Leo: The most important outcome was the participation itself, the diversity and energy of people who stepped forward for the first time. That, to me, signals the start of something bigger: a civic awakening, even a regional one, where Asian voices and experiences take center stage.

There were also concrete results. One was the Climate Lighthouse, a partnership between Shanghai Climate Week and Bangkok Climate Action Week—two Asian cities that are both vulnerable to climate impacts and leading in innovation. Another was the Invest for Nature coalition, which brought together around 20 civil society organizations in Thailand working on nature finance. The aim is to equip capital with a better lens for identifying high-integrity investments in nature, distinguishing what’s real from what’s greenwashing.

We also ran a youth innovation challenge, where teenagers aged 13 to 18 presented collaborative ideas for climate solutions. It flipped the typical “Shark Tank” model—judges weren’t extracting value but nurturing it. The quality of ideas was incredible, and we’re even exploring turning it into a counter-cultural television program next year that celebrates cooperation over competition.

Another important seed was the Bangkok Climate Action Declaration, which emerged spontaneously as a civic call to political leaders. It’s a first step toward building sustained public demand for stronger action.

SIPET Connect: The Clean Air Act was passed unanimously in Parliament soon after the event. Do you see a connection?

Leo: I think it reflects a shared moment. We’re moving from an era of complacency to one of agency. People are fed up with pollution and inequality; they expect better. Bangkok Climate Action Week tapped into that energy. People didn’t come because of personalities; they came because the space was opened up for them, and they were ready to use it.

SIPET Connect: Looking ahead, how will you build on this momentum next year?

Leo: We approached this first edition as an experiment, to test whether creating a new kind of civic space would draw people in. It did. Now we can be more ambitious.

Next year, we’ll double down on culture as the common language of action. Culture connects who we are with the future we want, and it’s our most abundant and endlessly renewable resource. We want to cultivate a culture of care, courage, and collaboration.

We’ll also activate the community of action that has formed. Success won’t mean having more events; it will mean stronger ones. I’d rather see fewer, co-designed sessions that bring together communities and deepen collaboration.

And we’ll keep the experimental spirit alive. Bangkok Climate Action Week will remain a laboratory, an open space to test ideas. Some concepts already emerging include using football as a platform for unity and creating new spaces for dialogue between citizens, businesses, and policymakers. The focus is collaboration, not confrontation.

SIPET Connect: The event drew significant participation from across Southeast Asia. How do you see its regional role evolving?

Leo: We always saw Bangkok Climate Action Week as a regional platform. For the first edition, we needed to ground it locally and ensure it felt authentic in Thailand. Even so, it turned out to be vibrantly regional. My guesstimate is that roughly a third of the events, about 80 to 100, had an explicit regional dimension.

Next year, we want to bring regional partners directly into the steering committee and co-create from the start. The experience has shown that we can be more confident in our regional ambition. People across Southeast Asia felt that this was an Asian moment, not just a Bangkok one.

SIPET Connect: Many of our readers are development partners working on the energy transition. What lessons can they take from this experience?

Leo: The first lesson is trust, trust people, and resist the urge to over-format. We didn’t prescribe themes or sectors; we simply created the space. More than 95 per cent of proposals aligned with the spirit of what we were trying to do. That says a lot about latent understanding and readiness.

The second is humility. Experts, myself included, often think we have the solutions, but that mindset can disempower others. Our role should be to equip people with tools, knowledge, and evidence, and then trust them to find their own paths.

Third, create space for experimentation. Development work is often too risk-averse. Transformation requires a portfolio that balances predictable, low-risk projects with space for new, uncertain ideas. That’s where innovation comes from. China’s development success was rooted in local experimentation that was scaled up; there’s a lesson there for all of us.

Finally, changing the narrative matters. One of our priorities for next year is to run coordinated communications campaigns with partners, pooling resources and aligning messages to shift public understanding of the energy transition. Culture and communication are what make participation, finance, and political will possible.

For decades, regional power trade in Southeast Asia remained more aspiration than action. Today, the ASEAN Power Grid is beginning to move from plans on paper to projects on the ground. In this Transition Toolbox conversation, Peter du Pont of SIPET Connect speaks with Keiju Mitsuhashi, Director for Southeast Asia & Pacific Energy Sector at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), about the momentum behind the ASEAN Power Grid and ADB’s work with the Philippines on renewables, grid modernization, and enabling infrastructure. Keiju shares his experience and reflections on how regional interconnections, domestic grid development, and national reforms are advancing together—linking ASEAN’s ambitions for increased power trade with the Philippines’ drive for more clean energy from geothermal, and offshore wind resources, as well as smarter, greener, and more resilient power grids. 

**** 

SIPET Connect: To start, could you introduce your role and focus at ADB?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: I am the Director for Energy Sector for Southeast Asia and the Pacific at ADB. I took on this role about two years ago after my assignment in Viet Nam. Our work is about delivering prosperity, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability across Asia and the Pacific through financing concrete energy projects, advancing complex reforms, and promoting innovative solutions.

SIPET Connect:  Regional power trade has long been on the agenda, but it has only recently begun to move from talk to action. The ASEAN Power Grid (APG) has been central to these discussions. What’s driving the new momentum toward making it a reality?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: The idea of an APG has always made sense but turning it into reality is complex. Grid-to-grid interconnection requires aligned regulations, grid codes, standards, and legal frameworks, and adding power trading creates another layer of difficulty. That is why progress has taken time, but it is now happening. The ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS) III plan identified 18 interconnections in the region; nine are already connected, although many of these will need to be upgraded. We financed the West Kalimantan–Sarawak link in 2016 and saw a quick payback. The Lao–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore pilot traded 100 megawatts across four countries and is now expanding to 200 megawatts. We also financed the Monsoon Wind Power in Laos—600 megawatts for export to Viet Nam—which is source-to-grid rather than grid-to-grid, but still part of the APG story.

What’s different now is the combination of technology, demand, and policy. Renewables are far cheaper than when earlier power plans were drawn up. Power demand in Southeast Asia could triple by 2050, driven by the growth of population, air-conditioning, data centers, and EVs, among others. And there is stronger political direction: leaders have agreed that the region’s grids should be connected by 2045. Singapore’s announcement that it will important six gigawatts of clean energy created a credible off-taker and shifted the market conversation. Some countries have access to abundant, low-cost renewables, and others do not; in many cases, imports are the least-cost way to bring in green electrons.

SIPET Connect: How do governments balance energy security with reliance on imports?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: Energy security comes first. In the 1990s and 2000s, industrial growth was primarily driven by coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia, and many of those plants are still relatively young. That can’t continue if countries are serious about achieving net-zero emissions and about staying competitive for exports and attracting foreign investments in the region. Clean energy is a core part of an energy security strategy now. That’s why we’re moving from planning to implementation. You’ll see that reflected in ministerial meetings this year.

SIPET Connect: Where does ADB fit into the ASEAN Power Grid, as it moves forward?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: While we coordinate at the ASEAN level, we also engage with sub-regional work within the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), and the Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), because trades usually start bilaterally, gradually, and expand from there. We have a cooperation arrangement with Singapore’s Energy Market Authority on clean-energy imports. At the ASEAN level, we and the World Bank are launching the APG Financing Initiative with the ASEAN Centre for Energy and the ASEAN Secretariat. The goal is to mobilize funds, including from the private sector, alongside sovereign lending because a large share of the APG will need to be privately financed.

SIPET Connect: What has to change to bring more private investment into power generation and interconnections?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: For generation, you need bankable power purchase agreements (PPAs), whether through auctions or feed-in-tariff schemes before power markets develop. Transmission is tougher. It’s regulated and mostly state-owned in Southeast Asia, and third-party access is still limited. Merchant models common in Europe may not be practical here. Realistically, however, you’re looking at public–private partnerships (PPPs) and availability-based structures for subsea cable projects. Further, interconnections must ensure grid stability. Domestic grid strengthening is critical. Grid links can increase vulnerability if they’re not planned carefully, so sequencing matters.

SIPET Connect: How will the APG Financing Initiative actually work, and how do you plan to de-risk?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: We’re coordinating project preparation and financing and setting up a financiers’ forum that brings in development financiers, commercial banks, developers, and philanthropies. De-risking happens in three places. At the policy level, we use policy-based lending to support reforms. In preparation, we can fund the up-front work—such as undersea surveys, environmental and social assessments, and legal and regulatory reviews—often with public or blended finance that can be refinanced later. And during construction, tools that ADB and multilateral development banks have can help manage cross-border and political risks so investors and other lenders can come in with confidence.

SIPET Connect: Let’s turn to the Philippines, where ADB has been very active over the past few years. What does partnership look like today?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: We have revamped our partnership with the Philippines in the energy sector. In 2001 we supported the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, which shifted the sector to a privatized structure. Today the country targets 35 percent renewables by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040. Policy signals are important, but not sufficient; public-sector interventions are needed alongside private investment. We’re supporting climate policy reforms with the Department of Energy (DOE), and other departments. We’re preparing a derisking facility for geothermal exploration and drilling, with financing targeted for 2026, because exploration risk has stalled development for two decades. We’re expanding energy access with results-based approaches for communities that still lack reliable electricity. We’re helping public-building energy efficiency retrofits to build market capacity and demonstrate models. On offshore wind, we’ve supported  Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to issue the department regulation on environment compliance certificate. We’re also working on common-use offshore wind ports, so developers have the infrastructure they need. On transmission, we’re exploring how public action can accelerate smart and green grid upgrades so renewables can be integrated at scale.

SIPET Connect: Offshore wind in the Philippines is getting a lot of attention these days. How do you see it unfolding?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: The Philippines has some of the strongest offshore wind resources in Southeast Asia, with estimates ranging from 50 to more than 150 gigawatts of potential. DOE have already issued notice to auction to subscribe 3.3 gigawatt of offshore wind power by 2028–2030, marking an important step forward. For developers, certainty around ports and support infrastructure is critical. Those facilities are likely to be publicly financed as common goods, which reduces demand risk, lowers overall project costs, and helps make bids more competitive for both consumers and industry.

SIPET Connect: Stepping back, what are your big lessons for the region’s transition?

Keiju Mitsuhashi: First, the energy trilemma—security, access, and affordability—has to anchor decisions. Energy transition itself cannot be the only or ultimate goal. Second, there’s no transition without transmission; clean power generation only works if the grid can carry it. And while renewable generation costs are down, integration is not free. Once variable renewables rise above roughly a third of the mix, the grid systems need storage, smarter operations, and more capacity to avoid curtailment. Third, the transition may not always look cheap, but the alternative—sticking with fossil fuels—raises costs and undermines competitiveness. The question isn’t whether we pay; it’s whether we build systems that are cleaner, more secure, and ultimately better for economies in the long run.

In Southeast Asia, unlocking private capital for urban decarbonization requires practical finance and delivery mechanisms that work within existing institutions. In this Transition Toolbox conversation, Peter du Pont of SIPET Connect speaks with Marc S. Forni, Lead Urban Specialist at the World Bank, about the World Bank’s Regional Low Carbon Cities (LCC) Program. 

The LCC Program advances a replicable approach—using performance-based contracts, “stapled” lending through state-owned and commercial banks, and clear rules for crediting—to help cities and large asset owners implement high-return investments at scale. 

What makes this approach compelling isn’t just its technical design—it’s the way it threads finance, regulation, and real-world incentives into something cities can actually use. As regional actors look for scalable solutions to climate action at the urban level, this is a toolkit in the toolbox worthy of careful examination! 

*** 

SIPET Connect: To begin, what is the World Bank’s Regional Low Carbon Cities Program, and why does it matter for the energy transition? 

Forni: The LCC Program is a practical playbook for getting proven technologies—like efficient lighting, rooftop solar, modern HVAC, and fleet electrification—into public and quasi-public facilities at scale. In settings where municipal borrowing is limited, we position cities and real estate operators as “brokers” of performance-based contracts with energy service companies (ESCOs), while partner banks provide the lending. That lets projects move without new public debt, and it creates a path that can be replicated across multiple cities and asset classes. 

SIPET Connect: You often say cities can broker rather than borrow. What changes when you take that view? 

Forni: It widens the solution set. Instead of asking whether a city can take on debt, we focus on structuring shared-savings contracts that are bankable on their own merits. The city sets performance requirements; an ESCO delivers and is paid from verified savings; and a state-owned or commercial bank provides a loan backed by the project cash flows. Instruments like receivables assignment or fiscal intercepts help de-risk repayment. Because many of these upgrades generate double-digit returns, the model is attractive to both public asset owners and lenders. 

SIPET Connect: You have worked in multiple countries. Why has Thailand become a focal point? 

Forni: Thailand offers an enabling environment: strong interest from asset owners, active financial institutions, and a clear framework for greenhouse-gas crediting through the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization. We also have a very collaborative set of counterparts—led by the Department of Climate Change and Environment—working alongside utilities and regulators to align technical, legal, and financial pieces. Earlier work in Vietnam helped shape the model; Thailand provided the conditions to pilot the approach at scale. 

SIPET Connect: What are the key building blocks of the model? 

Forni: There are three pillars. First, off-balance-sheet delivery using performance-based contracts and standardized procurement. Second, a pathway for carbon crediting, so that verified emission reductions can be monetized. This provides a meaningful uplift to project returns. Third, a supportive market infrastructure: sandbox pilots, clear licensing where needed, and fit-for-purpose accounting and disclosure, so financial institutions can participate with confidence. 

SIPET Connect: What have you learned from working with industrial zones and service providers? 

Forni: Scale is achieved by standardization. When audits, contracts, and MRV are consistent across dozens or hundreds of sites, large firms and their ESCO subsidiaries can participate at volume, and smaller providers find opportunities through subcontracts. Equally important, we’ve clarified procurement and contracting pathways, so that public agencies can use shared-savings arrangements where appropriate—always in line with regulations and in coordination with the utilities. The through-line is collaboration and clarity, not one-offs. 

SIPET Connect: What does the initial Thailand pipeline look like, and how do carbon revenues fit in? 

Forni: Subject to the usual approvals, the current proposal includes a lending line through a partner bank with a significant share earmarked for physical investments. Early tranches prioritize rooftop solar across public buildings, LED streetlighting, and industrial-estate solar expansions. Together, these could deliver substantial electricity savings and measurable emissions reductions. Where issuing of carbon credits is appropriate, verified reductions can be sold forward—creating a steady revenue stream that improves project economics while maintaining a conservative approach to quantification and reporting. 

SIPET Connect: You mentioned sandboxing. What kinds of pilots are you exploring? 

Forni: I can give you two examples. On the finance side, we’re working with banking partners on underwriting verified emission reductions and piloting forward purchase contracts. On the market infrastructure side, we’re collaborating with the exchange on structured forward auctions. Everything is done transparently, within the relevant regulatory frameworks, and with careful attention to accounting and disclosure. 

SIPET Connect: What’s the appetite you are seeing from the private sector? 

Forni: It’s strong when the offer is clear. Asset owners want a short list of bankable options, indicative capex, expected savings, and a straightforward path to funding and delivery. We’ve held information sessions and are coordinating with banking associations so that lenders can approach their clients with standardized packages. Adding a well-governed crediting component can lift returns further, while standardized documentation brings transaction costs down. 

SIPET Connect: How portable is the approach across Southeast Asia? 

Forni: The toolkit travels, but the first steps differ by market. In some places, distributed solar leads; in others, energy efficiency or waste-to-energy pilots make more sense. We also collaborate closely with financial authorities—central banks, securities regulators, and finance ministries—so that solutions integrate smoothly with domestic financial systems. The aim is to complement ongoing efforts and help local institutions scale what already works. 

SIPET Connect: What makes you confident this can scale beyond a single country? 

Forni: We’re not betting on unproven technology. We’re assembling well-tested practices—shared-savings contracts, standardized MRV, forward procurement, and transparent crediting—into a coherent package that institutions can use. When the pieces are aligned, projects move quickly and reliably. That’s what gives us confidence in the model’s scalability. 

Clean energy events are proliferating across Southeast Asia, but few are deliberately designed to foster candid, peer-to-peer exchanges among those shaping national energy policies. The Regional Energy Transition Dialogue (RETD), organized annually under the project Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE), aims to fill that gap.

For the past three years, the RETD has been convening political partners from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam for two to three days of discussion under the Chatham House Rule.[1] The RETD shows that purpose-driven convening is a strategic tool in its own right: by bringing together the right people, focusing on timely themes, and creating a trusted space, it enables Southeast Asian policymakers to share candidly, learn from one another, and take those lessons back home—creating impact that extends well beyond the event itself.

In this Transition Toolbox conversation, Peter du Pont of SIPET Connect speaks with Sascha Oppowa, Project Director at GIZ [Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit] [SO1]  Thailand, about how the Regional Energy Transition Dialogue works, what makes it effective, and why purposeful stakeholder convening can be as powerful a tool as any technical intervention.

****

SIPET Connect: Sascha, could you start by describing your role at GIZ and the work you do related to the energy transition in the Southeast Asia region?

Sascha Oppowa: In my role as Project Director at GIZ, I have the pleasure of being responsible for overseeing the Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE). CASE focuses on four countries—Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam—and it has a regional component that supports the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] vision for a regional power grid. The project is implemented as a consortium, with GIZ in the lead, and local partners in each country, as well as two international partners based in Germany. Together, we combine research, dialogue, and capacity-building to support to advance a sustainable energy transition in the region. Besides this, we are also running this wonderful platform, The Southeast Asia Information Platform for Energy Transition (SIPET), to foster transparency and mapping in Southeast Asia.

SIPET Connect: The Regional Energy Transition Dialogue has become a core part of CASE. What is it, and what does it aim to achieve?

Sascha Oppowa: The Regional Energy Transition Dialogue, or RETD, is an exchange and learning platform that we have now organized for three consecutive years. Its purpose is twofold: first, to share state-of-the-art research and evidence on the energy transition—whether developed within CASE or contributed by other partners; and second, to create a safe, closed-door space for peer-to-peer exchange among government officials and key stakeholders from our four partner countries. What makes RETD unique is that these participants might not otherwise meet; it allows them to step outside domestic silos, learn from each other’s approaches, and discuss both successes and challenges. Over time, this has helped build trust and foster an atmosphere where candid conversations can take place, which is critical for advancing the region’s energy transition.

SIPET Connect: How do you curate the discussions and select the topics?

Sascha Oppowa: We have been experimenting with both the format and the content over the three events we have held so far. We have always linked the theme to our ongoing workstreams: the very first edition of the RETD was a trial run in the sense of testing whether the idea of bringing together partners from different countries in Southeast Asia to openly share perspectives and experiences would work as envisioned. Building on these learnings, the second year allowed us to refine the concept further, bringing everyone together under the theme of “Electricity Market Designs for Renewables”, which provided a more focused structure for exchange and collaboration.

This year’s theme for our RETD was geopolitical developments and their implications for national energy systems, and this generated strong engagement. Participants discussed issues such as supply chains for critical minerals, the role of China in the region, and the implications for energy security in their countries. Post-event feedback confirmed that the theme closely matched their priorities. More broadly, I believe this approach ensures participants receive up-to-date insights while also creating common ground for them to reflect on and compare their national experiences.

SIPET Connect: The Dialogue is held under the Chatham House Rule. Why is that important?

Sascha Oppowa: What has proven crucial is not so much the formal application of the Chatham House Rule itself, but rather the creation of a framework and shared understanding of how to design a space, an environment, and atmosphere that is conducive to open exchange—where participants feel at ease to speak and reflect together. Government officials and our political partners rarely have many opportunities to meet across borders in such a setting and to engage in candid conversations with one another. With the RETD, we seek to provide exactly this: a room that fosters trust, encourages the sharing of both achievements and challenges, and allows participants to recognize that many of their peers in other countries are navigating similar complexities in the energy transition.

SIPET Connect: What have been the key takeaways or outcomes from these dialogues?

Sascha Oppowa: The RETD is not designed to deliver immediate policy changes. The impact is often subtle but long-term. An official from Indonesia, for example, might hear how the Philippines is tackling a particular challenge and adapt that approach at home.

Two lessons stand out for me:

The first is that trust is built over time: you need repeated engagement to create the openness we now see in our RETD meetings.

The second is that shared challenges unite people: knowing that others face similar barriers makes cooperation easier and more natural.

SIPET Connect: With so many clean energy events in the region, how do you ensure the Regional Energy Transition Dialogue stands out?

Sascha Oppowa: For me it depends on the purpose of each event. Large conferences such as ADB’s Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) are excellent for networking and broad thematic discussion. Our RETD, however, is designed very differently. It is highly targeted, limited to our political partners and key counterparts in each country, and the agenda is shaped around their specific needs and interests. That focus, combined with a closed-door setting, makes the discussions more relevant, candid, and ultimately more valuable for the participants. In that sense, I think RETD fills a unique niche rather than competing with broader events.

SIPET Connect: Could you describe the participant mix and how the sessions are structured?

Sascha Oppowa: We typically invite about 20 political partners—representatives from ministries, utilities, or government-linked agencies and a similar number from our CASE consortium, which includes local think tank partners and international experts.

We also bring in external speakers. This year, for example, the International Energy Agency’s Singapore office presented on topics such as grid flexibility and supply chain challenges. The Dialogue usually runs over two to three days. We would begin with scene-setting inputs from partners and experts, followed by breakout sessions and peer exchanges. This mix of evidence-based inputs and interactive dialogue creates both knowledge sharing and candid peer-to-peer conversations.

SIPET Connect: Have any new partnerships, initiatives, or changes emerged directly from the Dialogue?

Sascha Oppowa: I would not claim that the Dialogue leads directly to policy changes. However, it creates the relationships and shared understanding that make cooperation easier. Participants’ feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, especially this year, particularly on the value of connecting with peers from other countries whom they might not otherwise meet.

SIPET Connect: Was there anything from this year’s Dialogue that particularly stood out to you?

Sascha Oppowa: What stood out to me this year was how visibly the trust between participants across borders had grown over the course of the Dialogue. On the first evening, during an informal welcome, you could still see people clustering within their country groups. By the end of the two workshop days, those boundaries had broken down—participants from different countries were sitting together at lunch, engaging in breakout sessions, and sharing openly with each other. That shift is exactly what RETD is meant to achieve: moving beyond national silos and creating genuine peer-to-peer exchange. Seeing that transformation unfold in just a couple of days was very rewarding.

SIPET Connect: Looking ahead, what is your vision for the Regional Energy Transition Dialogue in 2026 and beyond?

Sascha Oppowa: As CASE, we would like to hold at least one more Dialogue next year. After three years, I am confident we have found a formula that works: relevant themes, a trusted space, and a strong team to deliver it.

Beyond CASE, I would be happy to see the concept and format adapted elsewhere – but would think this is not necessarily easy to replicate. Building the trust we have now took years of day-to-day work with partners in each country. Without that foundation, the openness we see at the Dialogue, I could imagine it being difficult to achieve.
 

--

For more information CASE’s RETD 2025, please visit Geopolitical Currents and Energy Shifts: Southeast Asian Leaders Convene for Regional Energy Dialogue in Bangkok - CASE for Southeast Asia.

[1] https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/chatham-house-rule

As Southeast Asia scales up its energy transition, understanding the landscape of energy investments is more important than ever. Across the region, governments, development partners, and philanthropies are implementing hundreds of energy transition projects amounting to billions of dollars in technical assistance and investment. This raises two important questions for us: 

1. Are these efforts aligned, effective, and reaching the right places?   

2. And is it possible to avoid the inevitable overlap between donor activities in the Energy Transition space? 

To help answer these questions, the Southeast Asia Information Platform for the Energy Transition (SIPET) recently completed an update of its flagship Project Mapping Tool. The result: a refreshed, regional view of more than 480 projects and more than USD 45 billion in clean energy investments—much of it focused on technical assistance and capacity building. 

But this is more than a numbers exercise. The updated data provides insight into regional progress on the energy transition, technical and programmatic opportunities for greater collaboration, and the significant benefits of making energy transition efforts more visible and coordinated. This article highlights lessons from SIPET’s latest donor mapping effort and argues that a more collaborative, shared approach to data on donor assistance can reduce duplication and help accelerate Southeast Asia’s transition. 

Why Project Mapping Matters 

The energy transition is not about just infrastructure. It’s also about technical assistance to build capacity, and the need for an efficient, collaborative and coordinated approach. With growing interest from funders and implementers, there’s a clear need for a shared platform that can track activity, identify synergies, and make information accessible to all stakeholders in the energy transition. 

The SIPET Project Mapping Tool helps meet this urgent need. The tool covers projects in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nnam and provides a user-friendly way to understand what types of activities are under way, where resources are flowing, and where support may still be needed. 

Our recent update was not just technical. It also had a strategic objective—aiming to build trust, transparency, and a shared understanding and knowledge base among energy transition stakeholders in Southeast Asia. 

Figure 1. Projects in the SIPET Project Mapping Tool by Country and Project Status 

What the Data Show 

While the scale and pace of energy transition activities is accelerating, the updated SIPET mapping reveals a few key takeaways: 

1. Funding at both the national and regional levels is becoming more transparent. Based on more than 480 projects recorded on SIPET (excluding JETP), most of the budget has been implemented in Indonesia; followed by projects with a regional remit; followed by projects focused on the Philippines, Viet Nnam, and then Thailand.  

2. Apart from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) funding, investments can be grouped into two broad areas:  

a) projects related to renewable energy (RE) Infrastructure and variable renewable energy (VRE); and 

b) support for policy advocacy, technical assistance, and capacity building. 

Figure 2. Budget share by theme: Policy Advocacy, Technical Assistance & Capacity Building, Infrastructure Investment, and JETP across 481 energy projects in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

Figure 3. The budgets of the three project themes recorded in SIPET, broken down by country. 

c) Overall, more than USD 15 million of funds recorded in SIPET are directed toward policy advocacy, technical assistance, and capacity-building initiatives, while more than USD 13 million are directed toward infrastructure. Infrastructure development in Indonesia, Viet Nnam, and Thailand accounts for a larger share of funding compared to funding for policy advocacy, technical assistance, and capacity-building projects, while the opposite trend is observed at the regional level and in the Philippines.  

d) Strong collaboration is essential to enhance public awareness, support planning, and strengthen accountability. For example, through collaboration with local partners, the commitment of USD 15 billion in energy-climate funding under JETP is transparently recorded and presented on SIPET. 

An important potential benefit of the SIPET Project Mapping tool is that it can identify opportunities to strengthen donor alignment, improve the completeness and availability of data, and expand focus to emerging priorities such as a Just Transition, inclusive financing, and subnational implementation. 

What We Learned from the Process 

Behind the updated numbers lies a significant effort to compile and validate project data from dozens of sources. Through this process, several lessons emerged: 

1. Structured, accessible data enables faster updates and better visibility. Where donors and partners provided well-organized project lists or shared database links, integration into the SIPET tool was quicker and more accurate. 

2. Manual data entry is still needed in many cases, particularly where information is not readily available online. While tools like web scraping and translation helped streamline some parts of the process, human verification remains essential. 

3. Donor collaboration makes a difference. The participation, and sharing of data by, donor coordination groups such as the Vietnam Energy Partnership Group (VEPG) demonstrates how strong engagement can lead to better regional insights and easier data integration. 

These lessons point to a shared opportunity: if donors and partners can align around simple data-sharing practices, everyone benefits from clearer insights and more informed decision-making. 

For Donors: Why Contributing to SIPET Matters 

The Project Mapping Tool is designed as a supportive platform for donors, not an evaluation tool. By participating, donors gain: 

1. A neutral, regional space to share and visualize their contributions 

2. Improved visibility of their work alongside peers and partners 

3. The ability to identify alignment opportunities and avoid duplication 

4. Assistance in presenting and communicating project data, reducing the need for internal resources to create their own visualizations and summaries. 

Rather than build separate tools or websites, donors can use SIPET to complement their communications and reporting efforts, while contributing to a stronger regional ecosystem. 

Conclusion: From Fragmentation to Shared Purpose 

Southeast Asia’s energy transition is dynamic, diverse, and full of opportunities. With more than 480 projects mapped, the SIPET Project Mapping Tool offers a snapshot of progress and a foundation for greater collaboration. 

We invite donors, implementers, and partners to explore the map, share your projects, and be part of building a more transparent, inclusive, and effective energy transition. 

Visit www.sipet.org to learn more.