(From left) Atul, Tengku Muhammad Taufik and Yergin at the luncheon talk during the last day of the international conference Energy Asia 2023. — Photo: LOW LAY PHON/The Star
Three-day event on sustainability sees 11 collaborations established at the sidelines
THE inaugural Energy Asia 2023 is a resounding success, bringing together experts from various industries, beyond the energy sector, to attain a broad perspective on energy transition in the Asian region.
Energy Asia 2023 chairman Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz released compelling statistics, noting that the conference attracted close to 4,600 delegates from various industries.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik, who is also PETRONAS president and group CEO, said during the planning phase, the intention was to organise a forum that has a unique and distinctive approach.
“We didn’t want this to turn into an outright trade show, but we also wanted to enhance, promote surface dialogues that were relevant directly to societies, segments or communities that are going to have to tackle this daunting challenge of energy transition,” he said during a luncheon talk in conjunction with the forum’s closing ceremony on Wednesday.
He emphasised that a key objective of the forum was to seek workable solutions and identify areas of cooperation and collaboration that could be swiftly implemented.
“We wanted novel insights, comparative practices, and adapted applications which could be turned into agreements and collaborations,” he added.
As a testament to the conference’s success, Tengku Muhammad Taufik revealed that there were 11 collaborations established at the sidelines of Energy Asia 2023, with all of them signalling towards the decarbonisation of energy systems.
Meanwhile, another speaker, S&P Global vice-chairman Daniel Yergin highlighted that Asia, which holds 60% of the world’s population, was left out of discussions on the energy scene over the past few months.
“Energy Asia 2023 has been a concrete way to address this issue and bring attention to Asia’s energy scene,” he said during the luncheon talk moderated by S&P Global Commodity Insights senior vice-president and chief energy strategist Atul Arya.
Among noticeable events include the launch of the Asean Energy Sector Methane Leadership Programme (MLP) in efforts to manage methane emissions within the region.
This initiative brings together regional energy companies to tackle methane emissions and support global efforts such as the Global Methane Pledge as well as the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative.
It is an 18-month programme that includes workshops aimed at capacity and capability building to strengthen Asean energy companies’ plans, targets, and financing options for reducing methane emissions.
Present during the launch of the conference were Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, United States Department of Energy assistant secretary Brad Crabtree and programme partners.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik also acknowledged the reality of affordable energy as a crucial factor influencing the development of economies.
“Governments have to balance that tricky trade-off between ensuring a sustainable future for the generations to come and making sure that prosperity can be consumed today,” he said.
He also highlighted that the voices during the conference were cogently suggesting a diversified energy mix for the Asian countries, instead of depending on a single source.
“It is multiple energy mixes that can chart multiple sustainable pathways,” he said.
He believes that the diversified energy mix was strongly encouraged due to the practical dimension including fossil fuels as part of the energy mix.
“But even as we acknowledge the role of fossil fuels, we are not climate deniers,” he added.
Despite fossil fuels being the core business of PETRONAS, Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the oil company deals with them in the most sustainable manner.
He said the platform has put a fresh discourse on the new realities of energy transition.
“I think in the new discourse, the voice of Asia needs to be heard, louder, more prominently, more fact-based, always armed with the realities of dealing with the energy trilemma.
“So as we decide what the future of energy Asia is, we will have to carefully curate how we do this properly,” he concluded and further signalled that Energy Asia will be back.
The three-day forum, themed “Charting Pathways for a Sustainable Asia”, was attended by over 100 speakers and 46 sponsors representing 19 industries from across 27 countries.
