Assessing the Outcomes of 47th ASEAN Summit and the Future of Southeast Asia’s Energy Transition

The urgency to shift toward a green economy is gaining momentum across Southeast Asia as ASEAN Member States (AMS) confront the dual challenge of sustaining robust economic growth while addressing the escalating impacts of climate change. With energy demand rising by an average of 3–4% per year (IEA, 2025), the region faces mounting pressure to decarbonize its energy systems. Positioning decarbonization and energy transition at the core of ASEAN’s regional priorities offers enormous transformative potential — not only to lift millions out of poverty and enhance resilience to climate-induced extreme weather events, but also to unlock significant economic gains. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA, 2023), a successful energy transition in Southeast Asia could add up to USD 13.1 trillion to regional GDP by 2050, increase annual economic growth by 1%, and create more than six million new jobs across the region. The urgency for Southeast Asia to accelerate energy transition also presents a strategic opportunity for the region to realize its aspiration of becoming “a global powerhouse of growth and resilience”.

To advance this aspiration, the ASEAN Summit, held twice annually, serves as the highest decision-making body under the ASEAN Charter. It provides political and strategic direction for regional cooperation across all three pillars of the ASEAN Community. In alignment with the region’s decarbonization vision, the ASEAN also has the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) functions as the key strategic document for advancing energy security, accessibility, affordability, and sustainability in Southeast Asia.

APAEC operationalizes the energy component of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, translating leaders’ commitments from the ASEAN Summit into coordinated policies, programs, and projects under the ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) framework (APAEC, 2025). The current phase, APAEC Phase III (2026–2030), builds upon the achievements of Phase I (2016-2020) and Phase II (2021–2025), aiming to accelerate the region’s transition toward a sustainable and low-carbon energy future.

Despite Southeast Asia’s strong renewable energy potential, existing decision-making bodies through ASEAN Summit, and guiding policy frameworks such as the ASEAN Energy Cooperation and APAEC, follow up and progress in translating these into a coherent regional strategic position remains in question. ASEAN’s current approach to energy transition and economic development still emphasizes sectoral implementation, with insufficient cross-border cooperation among ASEAN Member States (AMS). At the 1st ASEAN Summit (2025), leaders adopted the Kuala Lumpur Declaration “ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future” — a long-term strategic vision outlining the region’s goals over the next two decades (ASEAN, 2025). The document explicitly identifies climate change, green economy, and energy security as critical megatrends, signaling a recognition of the climate crisis as a defining regional challenge.

However, questions remain as to whether ASEAN could translate the outcomes of ASEAN Summit and newly adopted APAEC into concrete actionable items and policies, and more importantly effectively unlock deeper cooperation in green development while simultaneously achieving meaningful emissions reductions. This calls for further analysis of both the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for ASEAN’s energy transition agenda.

To contribute to this discussion, the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) will convene a regional and national media briefing entitled “Assessing the Outcomes of the 47th ASEAN Summit and the Future of Southeast Asia’s Energy Transition”. This webinar will provide a multi-stakeholder platform for regional think tanks, CSOs, and academia to exchange insights and perspectives on the outcomes of ASEAN Summit, particularly in relation to energy transition, climate action, and the region’s path toward a green economy.

Objective

1. To update and build understanding on the outcomes of 47th ASEAN Summit and ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Phase III in relation to the future of regional decarbonization;
2. To provide a multiple stakeholders platform for regional think tanks, CSOs, and academia to exchange insights to share their information and perspectives.