Energy Insights

Energy Insights speaks with Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the South Asia branch of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).We talk about many topics that revolve around the upcoming Indian election and where energy fits into that picture, including an overview of India's renewable energy capacity right now, how much Modi's BJP government can be credited with spurring clean energy growth, the dangers of India simultaneously walking down two energy pathways at the same time with renewables and coal, the development opportunities for renewables in the future and other topics.In the past, Sunil has been an expert and voice on the implementation of emissions standards for coal power plants in India on issues ranging from research to policy support to coalition development, contributing to India's first National Clean Air Program. Sunil has also authored multiple reports and research papers on energy and air pollution issues.--W: https://energyandcleanair.org/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunil-dahiya-b2272986/X: https://twitter.com/sunil_s_dahiya

Energy Insights speaks with Farwa Aamer about all things women, energy, and climate change. Farwa is the director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York. Prior to this, she led research on security, political, and socio-economic dimensions of transboundary river governance in the Himalayan region, along with other issues revolving around water, energy, climate change, and sustainable development across South Asia. Topics included climate change and its disproportionate impacts on women; energy poverty and the impacts of energy poverty, just energy transition in the context of women, how women can play a larger role in addressing climate change and energy issues, and what barriers still exist for women in terms of climate and energy policy.W: Asia Society Policy Institute - Farwa AamerTwitter: @FaamerLinkedIn: Farwa Aamer

Energy Insights speaks with Afu Utami about the recent Indonesian elections and energy policy in one of Asia’s fastest-growing countries.Afu is one of the founders of the technology-based political education movement Bijak Pemilu. This initiative aims to encourage voters to become politically engaged and educated, and it won the MIT Solve Global Competition in 2023.Afu is also the founder and CEO of Think Policy, an organization that aims to encourage policy ecosystem improvement and innovation in public policy in Indonesia. It also supports the general public to understand public policy in an accessible way through an evidence-based approach.Prior to these roles, Afu served as an environmental economist at the World Bank and a researcher at the World Resources Institute. She has also collaborated with the Indonesian government on several projects, including those related to energy and ecosystem management.Topics include the recent Indonesian elections and the subsequent energy policies of the new incoming government, Indonesia’s coal use, nickel processing facilities, China’s influence, how young voters are perceiving the government’s energy policies and environmental issues in Indonesia and how voters are responding to current challenges and changes in Indonesia’s energy and political landscape.X (Twitter): @AfutamiLinkedIn: Afu Utami

In this episode of Energy Insights, we speak with Janna Smith about all things renewables growth, challenges and opportunities in Southeast Asia. Topics include Southeast Asia's renewables potential, where countries are doing well, what countries are leading and the challenges associated with accelerating clean energy growth in the region. Janna Smith is a solar and wind researcher with Global Energy Monitor and the lead author of the organization's latest Race to the Top: Southeast Asia report. She has a master’s in defence and development from the University of Durham and has researched Southeast Asia for the past two years. She continues to work at Global Energy Monitor as the primary researcher for solar and wind development in Southeast Asia and North Sea countries.Web: Global Energy Monitor

In this episode of Energy Insights, we speak with Ulka Kelkar. Ulka is the Executive Director of Climate at the World Resources Institute India. She is an economist with 24 years' experience in climate change research, outreach, and capacity building.Ulka works on low-carbon development pathways, sub-national climate action, and just transitions in small industry. Previously, she worked on climate change at the Asian Development Bank and has been involved in projects with several organisations that have worked on issues across India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.Ulka's research has also appeared in journals such as the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Global Environmental Change, and Climate Policy, and Mitigation & Adaptation Strategies for Global Change.Topics included the recently concluded COP28 climate conference in the UAE's Dubai, including the controversy surrounding the appointment of Sultan Al-Jaber as the conference's president, the final adopted text that referred to transitioning away from fossil fuels, the new loss and damage fund, climate finance, and other topics.Twitter: @UlkaKelkarWeb: World Resources Institute | Ulka Kelkar

We speak with Katrin Wu about supply chain decarbonisation in the technology sector. We cover topics like what supply chains include, Apple's decarbonisation strategy and its new commitments, how Microsoft and Samsung compare to Apple with supply chain decarbonisation commitment, the price of consumer goods during the energy transition and other topics.Katrin is a climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia. She focuses on corporate energy transition and the technology industry's supply chain. She leads Greenpeace East Asia's campaign that calls for technology company suppliers to transition to renewable energy.

Energy Insights speaks with Liza Osorio from Oceana in the Philippines about the impacts of LNG development on marine ecosystems and communities nearby gas plants. Liza is an environmental lawyer and is the legal policy director of Oceana, Philippines.She is also a professor at the University of Cebu School of Law. She was elected the first Asian Chairperson of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Academy of Environmental Law between 2019 and 2023. She has also been involved in several environmental cases in the Philippines, including landmark cases that dealt with the rights of marine animals and the halting of illegal oil drilling and exploration in marine protected areas.We discussed many topics, including how LNG developments affect marine ecosystems and fishing communities, how much LNG development is occurring near the Verde Island Passage marine ecosystem, the risks of increased shipping, why gas is becoming a more prominent energy source in the Philippines and other topics.Web: Oceana PhilippinesX (formerly Twitter): Oceana PhilippinesFacebook: Oceana Philippines

Energy Insights speaks with Kian Min Low, the Chief Renewables Officer at Malaysian renewable energy company Gentari about all things renewables, Malaysia and Southeast Asia.Other topics include who Gentari is and what kind of projects it's working on, the current state of renewables in Southeast Asia, Malaysia's renewable energy push and net zero goals, Malaysia's energy policy, foreign investment support for clean energy expansion in Southeast Asia, energy security in Malaysia, energy subsidies and the role of gas in the energy transition.Links:WebLinkedIn

Energy Insights speaks with Sugandha Srivastav about all things energy poverty and developmental and energy economics.Sugandha is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow and lecturer in the Environmental Economics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University. Throughout her career she's focused on designing effective climate policy in low and middle-income countries, along with exploring incentives for clean energy innovation and finance and the political economy of energy transitions.We talk about energy poverty and access, the developmental implications of energy poverty, the micro and macro costs on countries with populations still reliant on biomass, developmental and energy economics, the gender implications of energy poverty, the just energy transition, the new Just Energy Transition Partnership deals, carbon offsets and the economic diversification of economies and regions still reliant on fossil fuels, and many other topics.Web: Sugandha Srivastav - Smith School, OxfordTwitter: @sugandhasriLinkedIn

Energy Insights speaks with Paul Martin about all things hydrogen. Paul is a chemical engineer by training and has an extensive 30-year history with making and using hydrogen and synthetic gas, working as a designer and builder for several pilot and demonstration scale plants for the chemical process industry.Paul is also a lifelong environmentalist and advocate for climate action and decarbonisation. He's one of the five co-founders of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, where they support a fact-based approach to hydrogen as an energy source to ensure that public investments in hydrogen are used responsibly and effectively without vested interests, public or private.Topics discussed include the feasibility of hydrogen as an energy source, the limitations of hydrogen and the optimism bias for it across governments and the private sector, the physical thermodynamic limits of producing hydrogen, its role in hard-to-decarbonise industries like steel and shipping and the issue with the ideas that hydrogen could be used with existing energy infrastructure and many other topics.Twitter: @SpitfireRsrchLinkedIn: Paul MartinWebsite: Hydrogen Science Coalition Website: Spitfire Research

We speak with Susanne Wong and talk about the upcoming G7 Summit in Hiroshima and go over issues related to Japan's insistence on seeing more investments in gas-related infrastructure, the recent G7 energy ministers meeting that took place in Sapporo in the run up to the G7, Japan's foreign energy policy and its impacts on Southeast Asian countries, the problems with an over-reliance of gas for countries like Bangladesh where Japan is now supporting its energy development, and other topics. Susanne is the Asia Program Manager at research, communication and advocacy organisation, Oil Change International, and she works with an international and Japanese-led coalition in pressuring the Japanese government to change course on fossil fuels. Previously, Susanne worked on issues and campaigns that affected communities by mega projects in marginalised countries and regions from Laos to the United States.LinkedIn: Susanne WongTwitter: @susanneirOil Change International Twitter: @priceofoil

Energy Insights speaks with Duncan McLaren on carbon capture technologies and the implications they may have on the future of the planet, along with the technologies propertied promises, drawbacks and other governmental and policy issues such as its mentioning in the recent IPCC synthesis report. Duncan is a postdoctoral Climate Intervention Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy at UCLA's School of Law. Much of his research follows climate politics and governance regarding geoengineering technologies and interventions.Previously, he was a research fellow at Lancaster University and focused on the role of carbon removal techniques, governance on net zero and security politics of climate engineering. Duncan also completed his PhD at Lancaster University that looked into the justice implications of climate geoengineering.From 2003 to 2011, Duncan was the Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland. His research has also been published in journals that range from the likes of Nature Climate Change, Global Policy, Energy Research & Social Science and the Anthropocene Review.Twitter: @mclaren_ercUCLA Law ProfileLinkedIn: Duncan McLaren

Carbon offsets have been around for decades. Proponents of carbon offsets have labelled them as essential to see climate finance directed towards regions and communities that need it the most. However, investigations into the validity and effectiveness of carbon offsets have painted a different picture and noted that many carbon offset projects do not make any difference to carbon emissions. This has somewhat justified critics' accusations that offsets are nothing more than greenwashing tools businesses and governments use. In general, carbon offsets face an uncertain future, and trust in offsets is somewhat declining after a booming interest in the past decade.

In this episode of Energy Insights we speak with Joojin Kim. Joojin is the founder and CEO of Solutions for Our Climate based in Seoul, South Korea.Prior to founding Solutions for Our Climate, Joojin's background was in law where he worked on several energy-related projects as a lawyer for South Korea's largest law firm Kim and Chang. Joojin has also been on the expert committee for the National Council on Climate and Air Quality that was convened by the President of South Korea and headed by former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. Joojin holds a Bachelors in international relations and a masters degree in environmental studies from Seoul National University and a degree in environmental law from Georgetown University.In today's conversation we focus mainly on South Korea's 10th basic energy plan and the implications that has on the countries energy mix in the future. Other topics include why Korea's renewable energy progress has been so slow, the risks of Korea's reliance on gas as a major energy source, and the corporate and international pressure to change the countries renewable energy landscape and other topics.Website: https://forourclimate.org/en/Twitter: @Solutions for Our ClimateFacebook: Solutions for Our ClimateYouTube

In this episode of Energy Insights, we talk about Just Energy Transition Partnerships - what they are, their history and how they can help Asian countries move away from fossil fuel-dominated energy systems that rely on coal, gas and oil. In particular, we focus on Indonesia's recent Just Energy Transition Partnership deal at the G20 summit last November. We look into what the $20 billion deal looks to help achieve, what it will be spent on, and what the current and future challenges are for Indonesia to move away from its coal reliance.For more, follow us on social media: LinkedInFacebookTwitter

In this episode of Energy Insights, Energy Tracker Asia talks about the ongoing energy price crisis that is engulfing Asia and the rest of the globe. Topics discussed include where fuel protests broke out across the globe, the energy price crisis in Sri Lanka and how it is affecting everyday people, the political implications of the situation in Sri Lanka, food insecurity and inflation, what is causing the global disruption of fuel supplies and high prices, Bangladesh's nationwide blackouts, and delays and cancellations of gas-related infrastructure in Southeast Asia. 

In this episode, we speak with Gerry Arances. Gerry is the founder and executive director at the Centre for Energy, Ecology and Development in the Philippines, also known as CEED.We focus mainly on the skyrocketing prices of gas and Liquified natural gas, or LNG, and how that affects Asia, specifically the Philippines. We also look into how much investment has been made into gas infrastructure before the price hikes, if investing in one source of fossil fuel to transition to cleaner sources of energy was a good idea in the first place, if high prices are temporary or long-term, how Europe's new appetite for LNG is affecting Asian gas supplies and raising costs, the impacts of high gas prices on everyday people and alternative ways forward such as looking into distributed renewable energy in the context of the Philippines and other Asian countries.Follow CEED:Website: https://ceedphilippines.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ceedphilippinesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ceedph/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CEEDphilippines/

In this episode of Energy Insights, we speak with Ulka Kelkar. Ulka is the Director of the Climate Program at the World Resources Institute India.By training, she is an economist with two decades of experience in climate change research. Currently, Ulka is leading the World Resources Institute's work on climate policy that supports India's low-carbon goals across policy and markets within states and cities. Previously, Ulka worked in climate change at the Asian Development Bank and has been involved in projects with several organisations that have worked on issues across India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Her research has also appeared in journals such as the Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Global Environmental Change and Climate Policy, and Mitigation & Adaptation Strategies for Global Change.Today we discussed several topics that revolved around India and South Asia's climate change impacts, fossil fuels, India's renewable energy progress, India's place amongst growing calls for loss and damage payments, climate adaptation finance and the outlook for COP27 competing with other global issues like energy security, inflation and the like. Twitter: @UlkaKelkarWeb: World Resources Institute | Ulka Kelkar

In this episode of Energy Insights, Energy Tracker Asia talks to Richie Merzian - the director of climate and energy at the Australia Institute. In today's episode, Energy Tracker Asia and Richie discuss topics around Australia and climate change and its complicated relationship and history with one of the globe's most critical issues. Other topics include the recent federal election in Australia, the role fossil fuels and the fossil fuel industry plays in Australia, holes in Australia's main environmental law, the recent victory seen by indigenous communities vs the Australian gas giant Santos, the outlook for renewable energy and supply chains in Australia with allied countries and Australia's role at COP27.Richie is a former Australian Government representative to the UNFCCC and worked at the Department of Climate Change and the Department of Foreign Affairs for almost a decade on both domestic and international climate and energy agendas.While at the Australian Government, he was the lead negotiator on adaptation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and helped coordinate the Green Climate Fund Board during Australia's tenure as Chair. Richie helped co-found the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) in 2006 and trained as a Climate Reality Leader in 2007 with former Vice President Al Gore.Richie is currently on the Advisory Committee for the Climate Change Institute at the Australian National University (ANU). Richie has degrees in Law and Economics from Sydney University.Twitter: @RichieMerzian | @TheAusInstituteFacebook: The Australia Institute LinkedIn: The Australia Institute

In this episode of Energy Insights, Energy Tracker Asia talks to Hemantha Withanage. They speak about the recent multifaceted crisis facing Sri Lanka's people across politics, economics and energy. Topics include a short history of what happened up until this years crisis plateauing, economic mismanagement by government officials, the cause of fuel shortages and who's at fault, the impacts fuel shortages are having, and how this will affect Sri Lanka's net-zero goals. Hemantha Withanage is the Chair of Friends of the Earth International. Previously, he was an environmental officer at the Environmental Foundation and he co-founded the Centre for Environmental Justice in Sri Lanka. Hemantha has also served as an executive director of Forum, a Philippines-based NGO, a network of civil society organisations monitoring the Asian Development Bank. Elsewhere he has worked in leadership positions across Asian international networks and is a leading environmental activist in the Asia-Pacific region. He is a graduate of Environmental Science from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. To follow: Facebook - HemanthaWithanage Twitter - @Hemanthawithana