Energy Transition a Necessity for Economy, National Security – Anwar

PETALING JAYA: The energy transition is no longer just an environmental agenda, but rather an economic and national security necessity, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Prime Minister emphasised that public-private cooperation is important to mobilise capital on a large scale to achieve that agenda without relying solely on government funds.

“We need capital to build solar farms, upgrade the grid, install battery storage systems and upskill the workforce. We need large, sustained and organised capital.

“The government cannot bear this burden alone. Achieving the energy transition on a large scale requires unprecedented cooperation between the public sector, private investors and project developers,” he said in a speech at the GBA-ASEAN Conference on Energy Transition and Integration here today.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the energy transition must be people-centred to ensure the poor and marginalised are not left behind.

“A transition that is technologically brilliant but socially destructive is not a transition; it is an injustice. Ultimately, energy transition and integration is about people.

“Therefore, we cannot stress enough the importance of prioritising the poor and marginalised in these vital efforts, otherwise we will only continue to perpetuate significant social inequality,” he said.

He said for ASEAN member states, deeper engagement with China and other partner countries should be strengthened through ASEAN-led mechanisms such as the ASEAN Power Grid (APG).

He said China’s clean energy sector is so large that it contributes more than one-tenth of the country’s GDP.

“However, the energy transition does not happen in a straight line and integration also cannot be implemented in isolation. Even before the current energy crisis, over-reliance on fossil fuels had prompted much of ASEAN’s attention to begin shifting to alternative sources such as solar and wind energy.

“Nevertheless, nuclear energy adoption remains low. This is rather unfortunate given that the region has the strong regulatory experience and technical expertise required to implement a path that could contribute significantly to the implementation of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC),” he said.

Anwar said Malaysia has set a renewable energy capacity target of 31 per cent by last year, increasing to 40 per cent by 2035 and ultimately reaching 70 per cent by 2050.

“We have pledged not to build new coal plants and to phase out the operation of existing coal capacity.

“Natural gas will continue to play a role as a stabiliser in the near term as the country moves towards the long-term aspiration of increasing the share of renewable energy,” he said.

In making this transition agenda a success, he said the world is now facing various humanitarian crises, the genocide in Gaza continues and the war between the United States (US) and Iran still shows no signs of ending.

“For ASEAN, energy transition and integration requires collective action and unity of resolve. Malaysia has played an active role and will continue to do so,” he said.

Berita Harian