ABSTRACT

Asia is a critical region of the world demonstrating consistent economic growth that attracts substantial amounts of investment and financing for favorable economic returns from its energy sector. Its fragmented economic regions, however, reflect a variation and differences in the stages of social and economic development. The region now faces key challenges to meet the goals of environmental sustainability in concert with high levels of economic growth and an energy infrastructure that has largely adopted legacy technologies into highly dense urban areas. The next generation of “smart” energy infrastructure is a crucial need for the region’s sustainable growth and development. The authors argue that the next phase of development in Asia, if more sustainable energy infrastructure for electricity generation is desired, needs to adopt a comprehensive policy for responsible financing and investment in technologies with a low carbon intensity. Such a policy, mitigating the emerging risks of climate change and harnessing the opportunities for sustainability, will drive development of large-scale sustainable energy infrastructure and technology transfers in Asia. A holistic framework is proposed to support the evolving dynamics of a low carbon energy future and sustainable financing strategies. The roles of inter-governmental and financial institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the newly developed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in facilitating top-down and capital market-based financing are explored. The participation of the private funding will be complementary and even critical for allocating resources into technological innovation of renewable energy and ICT-enabled clean technologies necessary for a sustainable energy future.