Building the Links: How Southeast Asia Is Accelerating Its Clean Energy Shift

Welcome to the September 2025 Edition of SIPET Connect. 

Southeast Asia’s energy transition calls for practical solutions that can be scaled across the region. In this edition of SIPET Connect, Marc S. Forni of the World Bank shares how the Regional Low Carbon Cities Program offers a new model for financing urban decarbonization.  

Our SIPET Explainer provides short, accessible breakdowns of clean-energy issues, reports, and debates, with clear, data-driven takeaways to help readers navigate complex topics. This edition tackles Carbon Capture and Storage. 

This issue of SIPET Connect explores how Southeast Asia is responding to complex geopolitical and climate realities through practical, cooperative action. We take our readers inside the 2025 Regional Energy Transition Dialogue (RETD), where policymakers and experts came together in Bangkok to chart a shared path forward—and where collaboration itself became the takeaway. In our new Transition Toolbox Series, Sascha Oppowa of GIZ Thailand reflects on RETD as a scalable model for enabling structured regional dialogue and replicable solutions. 

We also spotlight Enlit Asia—the region’s flagship energy platform happening this September in Bangkok—where SIPET will be presenting its latest work on regional policy tools and collaboration.  

This July, SIPET Connect launches its new Transition Toolbox Series, starting with a feature interview with Sue-Ern Tan, Head of the International Energy Agency’s Regional Cooperation Centre in Singapore, on advancing regional energy cooperation.

We also explore updated findings from SIPET’s Project Mapping Tool, which now tracks 481 clean energy projects and $45 billion in donor-funded investments across Southeast Asia.

This June, SIPET Connect concludes its Transition Finance Series with a compelling final interview featuring Lishia Erza (Candra Naya Lestari) and Deni Gumilang (GIZ Indonesia), who share practical insights on enabling a just energy transition in Indonesia. We also wrap up the entire six-part series, spotlighting key takeaways from regional experts. Plus, get highlights from ACEF 2025 and explore SIPET’s new Power Policy Tracker to compare ASEAN energy policies at a glance.