JULY 18 — As the world races to reach net-zero by 2050 , governments worldwide have developed a myriad of gameplan to achieve this goal.
A large number of countries have identified and are investing significantly in renewables as a solution, including Asean member countries.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its report titled “Accelerating Renewables Growth in Asean — challenges and policy suggestions” had highlighted that eight of the 11 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have adopted net zero emissions targets, and recent national energy plans outline substantially higher ambitions for renewable capacity. Achieving these goals will require timely, sustained and strongly co-ordinated policy action to unlock the scale of renewable energy deployment needed by 2030 and beyond.
The IEA shared that Electricity demand in Asean has tripled over the past two decades, driven by rapid economic growth, urbanisation, industrial expansion and rising living standards. Most countries have recorded annual electricity generation growth of more than 5 per cent since 2000. Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Vietnam have surpassed 10 per cent per year. Much of this rising demand has been met by coal-fired power plants, which supplied 47 per cent of Asean’s electricity in 2024 and remain relatively young, with an average age of around 15 years.
The report further dovetailed that renewable energy had significantly expanded in recent years, led by solar PV, whose installed capacity has increased sixfold since 2018 to nearly 35 GW. Still, hydropower continues to dominate renewable generation. Overall, renewables accounted for only 25 per cent of Asean’s total electricity supply in 2024.
As a background, Asean possesses vast renewable-energy resources, with around 20 terawatts of technical solar and wind potential — more than 55 times its current electricity generation capacity.
The IEA underlined that considering the untapped potential and benefits, several Asean countries have announced more ambitious energy transition goals. Eight of the region’s 11 member states have set net zero emissions targets. Recent national plans include significantly higher objectives for renewable capacity. For example, Indonesia’s new Electricity Supply Business Plan 2025-2034 plans major solar and wind additions. Malaysia aims for 70 per cent renewable capacity by 2050. Thailand’s draft 2024 power development plan targets at least 50 per cent renewable generation by 2037. Singapore plans up to 6 GW of low-emission electricity imports by 2035. Vietnam’s Revised Power Development Plan 8 sharply raises 2030 solar ambitions and outlines a pathway for renewables to reach up to 75 per cent of generation by the middle of the century. Combined, these plans would more than double Asean’s installed renewable capacity by 2030.
The IEA Regional initiatives also play a growing role in shaping Asean’s energy transition.
The Asean Vision 2045 and associated regional targets strongly emphasise expanding renewable energy and strengthening system integration to ensure its cost-effective and secure deployment. Under the Asean Plan of Action on Energy Co-operation 2026-2030, member states aim to raise the share of renewables in their installed power capacity to 45 per cent by 2030, up from around 35 per cent today. Complementing these goals, the Asean Power Grid initiative seeks to enhance cross-border electricity trade and expand interconnections, supporting greater utilisation of renewable resources across the region. Several Asean member states have already introduced important policy measures to accelerate renewable deployment. These include competitive auctions in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand; direct power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Singapore and Vietnam; and net-metering schemes in Brunei Darussalam. Despite this progress, significant challenges persist, underscoring the need for timely and co-ordinated policy action to unlock the scale of renewable-energy growth required to meet Asean’s 2030 ambitions.
These strategies illustrate Asean’s current primary focus on continuing to expand RE.
Timeline to reach net-zero by 2050, possibility with and without nuclear power
2050 has been earmarked as the target date for a significant number of nations to reach net zero with some achieving net zero earlier and others targeting to reach later.
During the Nuclear Energy Summit 2024 in Brussels, IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol had offered a key observation and remarked that “without nuclear power the world will not be able to reach net-zero in time”.
Nuclear power ambitions: Global vis-a-vis Asean
At COP28 in Dubai, UAE, on December 2, 2023, 25 world leaders had pledge to triple nuclear power capacity from 400 GW to nearly 1200 GW and this was followed by 14 major global financial institutions which officially pledged their support for the international declaration to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050. This landmark commitment aims to unlock and mobilise private-sector finance to expand the nuclear industry, accelerate the generation of zero-emissions electricity, and meet global net-zero climate goals.
Recognising the key role of nuclear power as one of clean energy necessary to reach net zero, several Asean member countries have announced plans to go nuclear including Vietnam which has signed an IGA with Russia for the construction of two large reactors within 2030-2035 and several indicating keen interest to explore nuclear power including Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
Rockefeller Foundation’s definitive report
PR Newswire reported that The Rockefeller Foundation had released a definitive report titled “The Role of Nuclear Energy in Powering Universal Energy Abundance for Emerging Economies” on December 4, 2025 that examines how next generation nuclear technologies could help emerging economies meet rapidly rising electricity demand and provide communities with clean, reliable, and affordable power. This report takes an evidence-based approach to exploring nuclear deployment across Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, and South Africa, which are home to more than two billion people and among the fastest-growing energy markets in the world.
The report’s findings suggest that under the right policy and regulatory conditions, nuclear power — including small modular reactors (SMRs) — could play a more meaningful role in these countries’ energy futures than previously assumed, including delivering up to 30 per cent of electricity generation and lowering system costs by up to 31 per cent by 2050, compared to renewables-only pathways.
Dr Rajiv J. Shah, president of The Rockefeller Foundation had shared that “the Rockefeller Foundation is committed to building a future of universal energy abundance where everyone has access to resilient, reliable, and affordable electricity”.
“As global energy demand grows, it’s never been more urgent to explore new technological pathways for emerging economies to access power and unlock opportunity for their people. This report demonstrates how nuclear energy can play a critical role in meeting that need with clean, continuous power”.
Commissioned by The Rockefeller Foundation and conducted by Bayesian Energy and Radiant Energy Group, this new study combines detailed systems modelling with structured qualitative research and expert interviews to assess the potential for nuclear deployment across Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, and South Africa.
Bayesian, using their proprietary power-system modelling platform Convexity, simulated power system evolution from 2025 to 2050 under multiple scenarios with and without nuclear deployment. Combined with additional qualitative analysis, key findings include, but are not limited to:
• Demonstrating that renewables and nuclear are complementary technologies rather than rivals and that developing both lessens the need to overbuild solar and storage to reach a zero-carbon system.
• Identifying key financial, institutional, and social barriers, as well as enabling factors such as governance capacity, policy design, and coordination mechanisms.
• Adding new, country-specific evidence to help policymakers and partners assess where advanced nuclear solutions could fit within broader strategies for expanding clean, reliable power in EMDEs to meet countries’ industrialisation and economic growth objectives and to help people flourish.
• Providing an integrated understanding of the technical feasibility and practical readiness for nuclear deployment across EMDEs.
• Reinforcing the catalytic role that philanthropy could play — despite its historical absence from this sector — in enabling early adoption, including supporting regulatory readiness, strengthening public engagement, facilitating access to international expertise, and helping governments de-risk investment decisions.
• Modelling how nuclear power could supply up to 30 per cent of total power by 2050 in several markets while reducing overall system costs by as much as 31 per cent when paired with ambitious renewable energy expansion.
PR Newswire further reported that Aman Majid, co-founder of Bayesian Energy had remarked that “our modelling shows that nuclear can work with renewables and storage, not against them. Pathways with nuclear still rely on major renewable buildouts, but require far less storage and transmission”.
“That means billions of dollars in avoided costs for countries where every dollar counts — along with less land use, fewer transmission lines, and fewer permitting challenges. But those benefits only materialise if nuclear projects can be built on time and on budget and that’s where the hard work begins.”
Follow-up action after the release of the Rockefeller Foundation’s “The Role of Nuclear Energy in Powering Universal Energy Abundance for Emerging Economies”.
The Rockefeller Foundation also convened 19 experts from philanthropy, governments, civil society, and industry to discuss the implications of these findings and potential pathways to scale philanthropic support for nuclear energy in emerging markets and developing economies.
My next article will spotlight The Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust's innovative financing to support nuclear power through the Global Coalition of Nuclear Philanthropy, one of the key outcomes of the report.
Recommendations for Asean including Malaysia
In recognition of the commitment by Asean member states to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, with some targeting 2060, it is imperative that governments not only invest significantly in renewable energy but also make informed decisions to invest in nuclear power. As International Energy Agency executive director Dr Fatih Birol has remarked, nuclear energy is essential if the world is to reach net zero in time. This is reinforced by a definitive report from The Rockefeller Foundation, which found that modelling shows nuclear power can complement — rather than compete with — renewables and energy storage. While pathways that include nuclear still require substantial renewable energy deployment, they would need significantly less storage and transmission infrastructure, potentially saving countries billions of dollars in costs where every dollar counts. The report also highlights additional benefits, including reduced land use, fewer transmission lines and fewer permitting challenges, provided nuclear projects are delivered on time and within budget.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
