Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs (Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs) Airlangga Hartarto encouraged Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) member countries to accelerate the transition of the use of fossil energy to clean energy. This is done to achieve the target of clean zero emissions in the Asian region. Airlangga revealed that there were at least two main keys that could be a guide to AZEC members in the decarbonization effort. The first is to develop a collaborative financial platform that overcomes challenges in the process of financing and energy transitions in Asia.
“It aims to mobilize domestic capital and attract international investment and create innovative financial instruments that are tailored to the needs of our region,” Airlangga said in the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) 2nd Ministerial Meeting, in Jakarta, Wednesday (21/8/2024).
Second, working together to build an effective market-based mechanism. For example, determining the price of carbon and the emission trading system that can accelerate the transition to a lower carbon economy while maintaining the competitiveness of each country.
“With a focus on this critical area, we can create a financial ecosystem that is in line with our climate goals and open the substantial investment needed for our sustainable future,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ken Saito expressed his appreciation for Indonesia for the holding of this event. It also agreed to support the acceleration of energy transitions in the Asian region.
“This year, we will change the principle and approach into a concrete action. Here, I will highlight three points,” he said.
First, to achieve energy transitions in Asia there are at least three sectors that require further cooperation, namely the electricity, transportation, and industry sectors. Meanwhile, as a result of this minister’s meeting, his party wanted to agree on the main initiative with concrete actions for these sectors.
Second, his party will deepen the partnership between the government and the private sector. At the meeting of last year’s leaders, his party confirmed 350 cooperation projects between Japan and other Asian partner countries, including 100 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Third, in the application of technology for decarbonization, it is very important to provide solutions such as determining the price of carbon oriented to growth and transition financing.
“For this reason, the zero center of Asia emissions will be launched at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) today to support policy development. This center will conduct research and analysis and provide policy recommendations that include various challenges for decarbonization,” he added.
As is known, AZEC is an initiative initiated by Japan since January 2022. aims to share the vision of advancing decarbonization among Asian countries and working together to promote energy transitions.
AZEC was attended by 11 participating countries, namely Australian Commonwealth, Brunei Darussalam State, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, Japan, the Democratic Republic of the people of Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines Republic, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Vietnamese Socialist Republic.
August 28, 2024, CNBC Indonesia
(https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20240821115028-4-565101/di-hadapan-menteri-se-asia-airlangga-usul-2-kunci-utama-tekan-emisi)