Asia-Pacific (APAC) economies have shown resilience in the face of extraordinary change. The region has seen immense growth in the past two decades, with the World Bank reporting that the share of people living in extreme poverty dropped from over 22 per cent in 2000 to just below five per cent on average.
Amidst the global pandemic, countries remained active in pursuing income support and credit creation measures while leveraging digital technology to weather the storm and seize opportunities to come out stronger.
Despite the current uncertainties in the global economic environment, the APAC region is expected to dominate global growth in the upcoming year, per the latest S&P Global Market Intelligence report.
Need for APAC to fuel the energy transition
As the region continues to plot its rise, it also must channel all the resilience it can muster to address the existential challenge that climate change poses. It is a known fact that APAC countries are on the frontline of climate change.
The region’s many low-lying coastal cities are exposed to flood and typhoon risks, and extreme weather events have become common. As the region grows and energy demand reaches unprecedented levels, finding alternative energy solutions and making existing carbon-intensive energy infrastructure efficient has become an urgent necessity.
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Accelerating the energy transition will be crucial not just for sustainable growth but also for survival.
Accelerating tech-led sustainability
Technology is what allowed the energy revolution to begin, and it is what will help us in wholesale and broad-based transition to energy-efficient systems.
In fact, Schneider Electric recognises that solutions already exist to transform easiest-to-decarbonise sectors such as utilities, buildings, industry and transport, with more on the way to impact the hardest-to-abate areas.
Our analysis shows that it is possible to reduce emissions to the levels needed to put us on the course to reaching net zero by the middle of the century through the mass development and implementation of existing technologies.
Continued technological advances will also offer new possibilities for organisations to optimise performance in areas such as emissions and waste management, as well as to measure and achieve sustainability targets.
During the recent Asia Clean Energy Summit in Singapore, it was also discussed how decarbonisation technologies such as green hydrogen represent a game changer for the energy transition. It is encouraging that countries like Singapore are looking at how to take this forward.
At the opening of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW), the government announced that Singapore would look at how hydrogen can complement and diversify the country’s power mix alongside solar, imported electricity, and other potential low-carbon energy sources such as geothermal energy.
Green hydrogen technology is a prominent example of how technology can further sustainable growth objectives. Its mass adoption has the potential to fundamentally transform the energy landscape, with its demand expected to grow to 500-680 million metric tons by 2050, according to an IEA report.
Green hydrogen technology uses renewable sources and water to generate clean energy that does not release carbon dioxide into the air. Hydrogen can be stored, transported, and used as a feedstock in industry, as transportation fuel, as heating fuel, and to generate electricity in various applications. Its disruptive potential has been felt in the global economy, with investments in low-carbon hydrogen technology increasing exponentially, backed up by policies from countries.
Nevertheless, it is still in its infancy and determining how to achieve cost-effective production is challenging. Finding the path towards efficient green hydrogen production would require new technologies and the availability and perennity of government subsidies to support green hydrogen projects.
As the production of clean hydrogen accelerates over time, the electrification and decentralisation of the power supply will also require more digital solutions to manage the distribution of energy and its usage in a safe, reliable, sustainable and efficient manner.
Data will be the lifeblood of these kinds of energy transition possibilities. It can help companies set a baseline to know what needs to be changed, measure changes over time and ensure there is meaningful change.
Most importantly, data can provide information for faster and more efficient decision-making. Any organisation seeking to achieve clean energy goals must have a robust and valid data set regimen, including all sources of emissions.
In line with this, it is encouraging to know that according to Schneider Electric’s 2nd Building a Greener Singapore report, close to three quarters (71 per cent) of Singapore business leaders who were surveyed in September 2022 believe their organisation is making good progress in energy management and are transitioning towards renewables.
This marks a 10-percentage point increase over the past 12 months.
Collaboration is key in pursuing a net zero future
As the climate crisis continues to exacerbate the global energy crisis, APAC countries cannot afford to rely on traditional modes of energy generation and energy infrastructure for sustained growth. Collaboration between private and public stakeholders will ensure that viable alternate energy technologies and data-driven solutions are operationalised.
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For instance, Schneider Electric launched our SME Kickstarter Decarbonisation Programme this year with support from Enterprise Singapore to offer sustainability coaching and knowledge transfer to local SMEs, which make up almost 99 per cent of businesses in the country.
Specifically, we have pledged to provide training and mentorship to participants over three years to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and guidance needed throughout their sustainability journeys, with a deep focus on decarbonisation.
Participants will take part in workshops covering key sustainability concepts and emissions reporting frameworks, and we have also pledged to support them in establishing their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, developing decarbonisation roadmaps and identifying opportunities for energy efficiency.
Ultimately, there is no one solution to tackle the climate crisis. A “one-size-fits-all” approach is not possible in bringing forth climate action in a region known for its diversity. Companies play a crucial role in creating real, achievable plans to tailor-make energy innovations for different markets, industries, companies, and stakeholders in the region.
These plans require a comprehensive and deep reflection on the priorities and objectives of stakeholders to make any kind of tangible change possible.
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