Partnering for Progress: How International Collaboration is Advancing Southeast Asia’s Energy Transition

Welcome to the June 2026 edition of SIPET Connect! 

This month, SIPET Connect, turns to a question that has been building across the region for several years: Southeast Asia is not short on green ambition, but it may be short on execution. 

In our latest Transition Toolbox, we feature Aviva Imhof, Senior Director, Southeast Asia, Tara Climate Foundation, on the role of climate philanthropy in supporting Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition. The conversation explores how strategic partnerships, flexible funding, and regional collaboration can help accelerate practical action across the power sector.

In our Explainer, we unpack the findings of the Southeast Asia's Green Economy Report 2026: The New Calculus by Bain & Company and Standard Chartered, released in May. The report reveals a structural conversion problem at the heart of the region's transition: it is not capital that is missing, but the conditions to deploy it. With over a third of announced green investment at risk of not being realised, the pressure is on governments, utilities, and financiers to close the gap before long-term fossil fuel contracts lock in the wrong trajectory.

As always, we also provide a round-up of jobs, publications, and events worth watching across the region.

Welcome to the May 2026 edition of SIPET Connect! 

This month, SIPET Connect turns to an issue that feels especially timely for Southeast Asia’s transition. 

In our latest Transition Toolbox, we speak with Robert Tromop of the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) about the role of long-range energy outlooks, data, and modelling in shaping better regional energy decisions. As Southeast Asia navigates rising demand, shifting fuel markets, and more complex transition choices, the conversation is a reminder that credible planning tools matter just as much as ambitious targets. 

In our Explainer, we look at the current energy crisis rippling across Asia following the disruption of Middle East supply routes. What began as a geopolitical shock has quickly become a test of how exposed the region remains to imported fossil fuels, concentrated shipping routes, and price volatility. For Southeast Asia, the lesson is not only about emergency response, but about what real energy security requires next: more resilient systems, lower fuel dependence, and faster progress on clean power, efficiency, and flexibility.  

As always, we also round up a few jobs, publications, and events worth watching across the region.  

Welcome to the March 2026 edition of SIPET Connect! 

Marking March as Global Gender Equality Month, including International Women's Day, we turn to a dimension of the energy transition that is gaining visibility, but still struggles to translate into system-level change: gender. 

March’s Transition Toolbox, Ellen Bomasang shares insights from over three decades across energy and development, reflecting on how the sector’s approach to gender has evolved—and what it will take to move beyond participation toward structural change. From workforce dynamics to financing and institutional design, the conversation highlights where real progress is happening, and where gaps remain. 

Our Explainer Series builds on this by unpacking what the global evidence says about women’s participation in renewable energy, and why a gender-responsive approach is essential to making the transition both effective and equitable. 

Welcome to the February 2026 Edition of SIPET Connect. 

In this edition, we take a closer look at a question that continues to surface across Southeast Asia’s transition: why do strong projects still face challenges finding the right capital (and vice versa)? 

In this month’s Transition Toolbox, Sarah Love, who leads the FCDO’s Climate, Energy and Nature Network in Southeast Asia, speaks with Peter du Pont of SIPET Connect about what actually needs to change—from building a stronger pipeline of investable opportunities, to why momentum is building behind the ASEAN Power Grid, and how coordination platforms like PACE and blended finance tools (including FAST-P) can unlock the flow of private capital from interest to action.