Gas investments in S-E Asia undermine green energy, climate push: Analysis

They can lock in years of pollution and divert expenditure from cheaper renewables

- David Fogarty

Right now, gas seems to be winning, according to an analysis of investment plans published on May 30, which says the dash for gas comes with considerable economic and climate risks.

Plans for a massive build-out of gas-fired power plants and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in South-east Asia risks locking in decades of costly polluting energy and holding back investments in cheaper renewables, says the analysis by US non-profit Global Energy Monitor (Gem), which tracks fossil fuel and renewable energy projects worldwide.

The US$220 billion (S$297 billion) in planned spending could double the region's gas-fired power capacity and boost LNG import capacity by 80 per cent.

Regional governments say such investments will boost energy security, but critics say they will deepen dependency on costly and volagas prices and undermine regional climate plans to cut planetwarming greenhouse gas emissions.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are at the forefront of the gas push, the study said, and financial backers include Japan and South Korea.

"These gas projects could lock South-east Asian countries into relying on an economically volatile and insecure fuel source," said the report's lead author Warda Ajaz, project manager of Gem's Asia Gas Tracker.

Spot LNG prices hit a record US$70 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu) in August 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, pricing some Asia buyers out of the market as wealthier European nations snapped up LNG cargoes. Spot prices are currently around US$12 per mmBtu.