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Energy Transition Initiatives Seen Achievable As Govt Rolls Out Action Plans

Regional Director APAC Energy Industry Council (EIC) Azman Nasir during a press conference on Oil & Gas Asia (OGA) and EIC at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here today.

By Siti Radziah Hamzah

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Initiatives outlined under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) are seen to be achievable as action plans are rolled out to support the country's commitment towards net carbon zero emissions by 2050.

The Energy Industries Council director for Asia-Pacific Azman Nasir said the government has made a lot of preparations towards meeting its net zero carbon emissions commitments despite concerns that the realisation of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 may be delayed.

This is due to global energy supply chain companies having shifted their focus back to oil and gas, primarily on challenges related to the availability of consistent renewable energy (RE) work and challenges in the profitability of RE projects, he noted. 

"With the announcement of the NETR phase two and the New Industrial Master Plan, all that point towards new efforts and initiatives, which is good as far as the net zero carbon emission commitment is concerned. 

"When I said that net-zero carbon emissions commitments may be delayed, I am talking about it globally because of the shift in thinking from the Russia-Ukraine conflict where Western countries have changed their narrative from how dirty fossil fuel is because they were suffering from a gas shortage," Azman told Bernama. 

Russia supplied about 40 per cent of Europe's natural gas before the conflict erupted but dropped to 15 per cent, which impacted prices and strained energy-intensive industries.

 

Budget 2024

Association of Water and Energy Research president S. Piarapakaran said while a major fuel mix and primary energy transition will take place in the coming three decades, it is important for the government to take stock of past failures that have unfairly made Malaysians and the economic sector pay higher costs.

"The government must look into full-scale energy efficiency implementation across the board. It is vital to ensure consumption patterns for energy are moving towards a more efficient solution by behavioural changes, technology overhauling, and retrofitting," he told Bernama. 

Piarapakaran said efficiency was the major parameter in keeping the energy demand curve flatter but unfortunately, the transportation sector was left out of the energy efficiency initiatives in NETR.  

"In addition to that, the technological solutions chosen must be made after proper life cycle analysis studies are done to ensure we do not end up with new environmental problems," he added. 

Piarapakaran said the government must also “select and match” energy resources with respective utilisation sectors to ensure each economic and public sector did not over-invest in infrastructures.

"By using the ‘select and match’ approach, targeted and efficient infrastructure developments can be done in a speedier manner. A mistake in the national energy policy will lead to a devastating outcome by 2050 and cause irreversible damage to our economy as well as widening the economic gap between the rich and poor. 

"The NETR (phase two) does not give clear indications or monitoring parameters to measure tangible outcomes as well," he said.

 

Shift to EV 

Piarapakaran said NETR projects set certain low-hanging targets but no detailed and phase-by-phase breakdown of how these projects will eventually contribute to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 targets.

"Until proper measurements, transparency, and details are made available, we may not be able to see tangible outputs clearly.

“For example, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act left out the transportation sector. Based on the National Energy Balance 2019, 38 per cent of the final energy demand for Malaysia is used by the transportation sector which is 25,004-kilotonne oil equivalent (ktoe). 

"This means about two-fifths of the final energy demand is left unattended. Electrifying transportation sector is looking at converting internal combustion engines to electric vehicles (EVs) and some may use alternative fuels that may not bring net energy gain, resulting in the final energy demand for the transportation sector increasing further," he told Bernama

Piarapakaran pointed out that this would impact the middle and low-income groups on their need to shift to EVs as well as public transportation, which is kind of left out.

 

National Energy Council 

The Malaysian government will proceed with the establishment of the National Energy Council, and the first council meeting is expected to be held this month.

Piarapakaran said there must be a balanced representation from all stakeholders and that those stakeholders should not be selected amongst “yes man” groups to ensure that allocations would be spent prudently and produce real tangible results.

"Generally, a change in minister or government will not impact the policy’s implementation. The current NETR and its parent document were developed by previous governments and it is still being continued," he noted. 

Malaysia first mulled the establishment of the National Energy Council in September last year, following the launch of the National Energy Policy 2022-2040 by the previous administration at the time.

Recently, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state wants a representative on the National Energy Council and has urged the federal government to consider the state’s request. 

Abang Johari presented the request to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during a Cabinet meeting in Kuching on Sept 16.

SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said effective leaders often find themselves faced with the necessity of making pivotal decisions, and these decisions may, at times, involve challenging trade-offs. 

"The nature of these trade-offs hinges on a delicate balance between an organisation's sustainability vision, mission, and objectives and the evolving landscape of the macro environment and industry dynamics.

“Successfully navigating these decisions also involves considering the commercial aspects in order to strike a harmonious equilibrium," he told Bernama. 

-- BERNAMA

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