Remarks by Minister Chan Chun Sing at the 36th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) Opening Ceremony

36th ASEAN MINISTERS ON ENERGY MEETING (AMEM) OPENING CEREMONY REMARKS BY MINISTER CHAN CHUN SING, ON MONDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2018, 8.30AM, SANDS EXPO & CONVENTION CENTRE, MARINA BAY SANDS
 

Your Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

1.             A very good morning to all of you. I am very happy to welcome our ASEAN colleagues and friends to Singapore for the 36th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting, or AMEM. 

2.             The theme for this year’s AMEM is “Transforming Energy: Invest, Innovate, Integrate”, in line with Singapore’s themes of Resilience and Innovation for ASEAN this year.

3.             Advances in technology are changing the global energy landscape. Renewables are becoming increasingly price competitive, data-enabled energy management systems are allowing better optimisation of the grid, and energy storage systems are providing new options to enhance grid resilience. We will need to transform our energy sectors to address the challenges and seize opportunities that arise due to these changes.

Energy as a key enabler of economic development

4.             This is especially important in ASEAN. ASEAN is a vibrant and dynamic region, and is projected to be the fourth largest economy in the world by 2030. Energy is essential to many sectors and as a result, the energy sector underpins our collective economic growth. 

5.             To ensure that ASEAN is able to live up to its economic potential and promise to its people, we will need to work towards ensuring affordable, sustainable and reliable energy access for all. 

6.             This will not be easy. Investments in power generation capacity and infrastructure will be needed to meet ASEAN’s energy demand, which has grown by 60% over the past 15 years. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s projections, it will continue to grow by another two-thirds by 2040. Innovative solutions are also needed to supply energy across ASEAN, as 65 million people in Southeast Asia currently still do not have access to electricity. 

7.             At the same time, there is global consensus that climate change remains a significant challenge of our times. ASEAN countries must look for sustainable ways to grow our economies, in order to ensure our growth does not come at the expense of our environment or our people. There is a pressing need to facilitate ASEAN’s energy transition to sustain economic growth and to improve lives.

Strong cooperation within ASEAN is vital

8.             ASEAN Member States recognise that these goals cannot be achieved without close regional cooperation. Since 1999, we have collectively developed the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation, or APAEC, as a blueprint for multilateral energy cooperation.

9.             The latest edition, the APAEC 2016 – 2025, spells out our commitment to work towards enhancing energy connectivity and market integration in ASEAN, to achieve energy security, accessibility, affordability and sustainability for all. 

10.          ASEAN Member States are currently mid-way through implementing the first phase of the APAEC 2016 – 2025 plan. So far, we have seen strong progress and are on track to achieve the goals set out in the first phase. I would like to highlight some of the key milestones that we have achieved this year. 

a.    ASEAN has a goal to reduce our energy intensity by 20% by 2020, compared to 2005 levels. We have exceeded this target, and have thus far reduced our energy intensity by 21.9% in 2016.

b.    We saw multilateral power trades achieved under Phase 1 of the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, with the first trade taking place in January this year. This is a good step towards enhancing our energy connectivity. 

c.     For the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline, six ASEAN Member States have been successfully connected through over 3,600 kilometres of cross-border natural gas pipelines, as of July this year. In addition, eight liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminals have been built with a total capacity of 36 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).

11.          While we celebrate the good progress made so far, we will need to continue to work hard together, to implement the remaining measures and realise the benefits for our people.

12.          Further efforts are also needed to scale up the deployment of renewable energy to reach ASEAN’s aspirational target of 23% share of renewable energy in our energy mix by 2025. Enabling policy and investment frameworks would also help to facilitate the energy transition and find a balance between renewables and fossil fuels.  

13.          Another example is in the buildings sector, where energy demand is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. With close regional collaboration among our building industry specialists, we can create a supply of green buildings through intelligent design and use of materials. Zero-energy buildings are possible, and in the future, perhaps even net positive energy buildings.

Increasing collaborations with ASEAN’s partners

14.          Beyond ASEAN’s borders, we are deepening our collaborations with our dialogue partners and international organisations, to work towards implementing the APAEC. Such global energy cooperation is increasingly important in maintaining energy security, facilitating international partnerships, and in shaping a sustainable energy future. 

15.          We have been working closely with the IEA on energy investment and infrastructure financing to ensure that there is adequate infrastructure to support the region’s growing energy demand, and to make ASEAN an attractive hub for infrastructure development projects. 

16.          ASEAN is also looking to deepen our engagement with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) through the ASEAN-IRENA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), to scale up renewable energy deployment in the region. Joint efforts in capacity building in renewable energy policies and technical expertise will contribute towards achieving our renewable energy target. 

17.          Beyond the public sector, energy industry players, and academic institutions also have a role to play in enabling ASEAN’s energy transition. This year, we are holding the 36th AMEM together with the 11th Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) to facilitate the exchange of ideas between top policymakers and energy industry practitioners. Through stronger collaboration and the sharing of innovative ideas and best practices, we can adopt better ideas to prepare our people, cities and countries to navigate the changing energy landscape.

Conclusion

18.          I would like to thank the delegations for working hard in the run up to this meeting, to ensure that we achieve what the ASEAN energy community has set out to do. Let us all build on the good work done so far, to bring ASEAN even closer to achieving our APAEC goals. 

19.          I hope that you will engage in active exchanges with various energy professionals, policy-makers and industry players throughout this week at both AMEM and SIEW. Let us learn from each other’s experiences and strengthen our collective efforts to build an affordable, sustainable and reliable energy future for ASEAN.

20.          Thank you very much and I wish you all fruitful meetings ahead.