Publication: Green Horizon: East Asia’s Sustainable Energy Future
Loading...
Published
2025-08-26
ISSN
Date
2025-08-28
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This overview lays out pathways to decarbonize the power and industrial sectors of the East Asia region, sectors that together constitute an overwhelming majority of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emanating from these countries. With a specific focus on China, Indonesia, and Viet Nam, which together account for 80 percent of region’s emissions and represent 88 percent of the region’s coal consumption, the report argues for a stepped-up role of renewables in driving the region’s ambitious growth agenda, net zero targets, and industrialization and urbanization trajectory. Combining desk research, private sector surveys, stakeholder consultations, and quantitative modeling - and drawing from World Bank’s widespread operational footprint in the region - this overview presents the barriers to be addressed to up transition from a coal dominated system in the power sector and then to create the conditions for technological interventions in industrial sectors—improving energy and material efficiency, increasing electrification, and adopting advanced technologies such as green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. This overview – an amalgamation of two reports on renewable energy and industrial decarbonization in the region, is a follow-up to a 2010 World Bank report titled "Winds of Change: East Asia’s Sustainable Energy Future".
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2025. Green Horizon: East Asia’s Sustainable Energy Future. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43646 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Winds of Change : East Asia's Sustainable Energy Future(World Bank, 2010)This report demonstrates that a "climate-smart" energy strategy is possible for countries in the East Asia region, with support from the international community. In the past three decades, the East Asia region has experienced the fastest economic growth in the world, accompanied by rapid urbanization. As a consequence, energy consumption has more than tripled and is expected to further double over the next two decades. This remarkable growth and rapid urbanization have led to twin energy challenges in the region: improving environmental sustainability and enhancing energy security. The region has many of the world's most polluted cities, resulting from fossil fuel combustion. The region also contains some of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, although their per capita and historical emissions are much below the levels of industrialized countries. Concerns with energy security have grown because of increased risks of price volatility and possible disruptions in supplies for oil and gas. To move the region to a sustainable energy path, the commitment of the respective governments and communities is essential. The governments will need energy-pricing reforms that no longer encourage the use of fossil fuels, and put in place regulations and incentives that improve energy efficiency and support low-carbon technologies. The governments also will need to ramp up research and development for new technologies to leapfrog to the clean energy revolution. The countries cannot move to a sustainable energy path alone. They will need the support of the international community. Substantial concessional financing is essential to motivate energy efficiency and low-carbon technology investments. Transfer of low-carbon technologies and institutional strengthening also will be needed.Publication Tracking Progress Toward Providing Sustainable Energy for All in East Asia and the Pacific(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-09-22)To sustain momentum for the achievement of the sustainable energy for all (SE4ALL) objectives, a means of charting global progress to 2030 is needed. The World Bank and the International Energy Agency led a consortium of 15 international agencies to establish the SE4ALL global tracking framework (GTF), which provides a system for regular global reporting, based on rigorous yet practical, given available databases - technical measures. This note is based on that framework. This note uses GTF data to provide a regional and country perspective on the three SE4ALL goals in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP). The first section considers energy access. The report looks at the renewable energy and energy efficiency goals.Publication One Goal, Two Paths : Achieving Universal Access to Modern Energy in East Asia and the Pacific(World Bank, 2011-09-14)The purpose of the current flagship report is to address energy access and related developmental issues in East Asia Pacific (EAP) that so far have received less attention compared to the macro energy issues of climate change and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. EAP countries have two steep paths to climb to achieve universal access to modern energy: electricity and modern cooking solutions. Approximately 170 million people, or 34 million households, in EAP countries do not have electricity connections in their homes. This number is equivalent to approximately 9 percent of the Region's total population, and 30 percent of the Region's population excluding China. Moreover, approximately 6 times that number, or over 1 billion people, still lack access to modern cooking solutions. In addition, EAP is exceeded by only Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia in the number of people who lack access to electricity. However, access to both electricity and modern cooking solutions is essential to address the enduring impacts of poverty and to move the poor onto a rising development trajectory. The link between access to modern energy and development is most clearly defined by the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The MDGs were formulated to reduce global poverty while increasing education, empowering women, and improving child and maternal health. Although there is no direct reference to energy in the MDGs, the need for access to energy, particularly modern energy, to improve overall welfare is well recognized by the development community.Publication Towards a Sustainable Energy Future : The World Bank Group's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Action Plan(Washington, DC, 2004-06-30)The challenge for the development community is to exploit the links between energy and poverty to combat global poverty. The human scale of this challenge is huge. Today, 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity and 2.4 billion rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating. Indoor air pollution is among leading causes of illness and death in developing countries. It leads to 2 million premature deaths a year. In 2004, the richest 20 percent of the world s population consume 58 percent of total energy, while the poorest 20 percent consume less than 4 percent. The majority of those underserved are the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. With increasing populations, 25 years from now, business-as-usual energy scenarios project that even after an expenditure of 16 trillion US dollars on energy investments of which half will be in developing countries, 1.4 billion people will still lack access to electricity. This is a reduction of only 200 million people from today. Over 2.6 billion people in developing countries will continue to rely on traditional forms of biomass for cooking and heating in 2030, even more than today. This scenario expects renewable energy share to increase from 2 percent to 3 percent between 2000 and 2030. Under this scenario, by 2030, the more than doubling of coal, oil and gas consumption will lead to increases in greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector. The impacts will affect the developing countries the most, and hence rendering the poor more vulnerable. Projected impacts are increased deaths and risk of infectious disease epidemics; increased floods, mudslides and coastal and soil erosion; increased property and infrastructure damage; decreased crops, higher crop damages and a general drop in agricultural productivity.Publication Renewable Energy Desalination : An Emerging Solution to Close the Water Gap in the Middle East and North Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012-09-26)The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is one of the most water-stressed parts of the world. In just over 25 years, between 1975 and 2001. Looking to the future, MENA's freshwater outlook is expected to worsen because of continued population growth and projected climate change impacts. The region's population is on the way to doubling to 700 million by 2050. Projections of climate change and variability impacts on the region's water availability are highly uncertain, but they are expected to be largely negative. To offer just one more example, rainfall and freshwater availability could decrease by up to 40 percent for some MENA countries by the end of this century. The urgent challenge is how to adapt to the future as illustrated by these numbers and how to turn the region's economy onto a sustainable path. This volume suggests new ways of thinking about the complex changes and planning needed to achieve this. New thinking will mean making better use of desert land, sun, and salt water the abundant riches of the region which can be harnessed to underpin sustainable growth. More mundane, but just as important, new thinking will also mean planning for dramatically better management of the water already available. Right now, water is very poorly managed in MENA. Inefficiencies are notorious in agriculture, where irrigation consumes up to 81 percent of extracted water. Similarly, municipal and industrial water supply systems have abnormally high losses, and most utilities are financially unsustainable. In addition, many MENA countries overexploit their fossil aquifers to meet growing water demand. None of this is sustainable while water resources decline. This volume hopes to add to the ongoing thinking and planning by presenting methodologies to address the water demand gap. It assesses the viability of desalination powered by renewable energy from economic, social, technical, and environmental viewpoints, and it reviews initiatives attempting to make renewable energy desalination a competitively viable option. The authors also highlight the change required in terms of policy, financing, and regional cooperation to make this alternative method of desalination a success. And as with any leading edge technology, the conversation here is of course about scale, cost, environmental impact, and where countries share water bodies plain good neighborly behavior.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Where You Are Born Matters(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-21)Abstract The circumstances into which individuals are born are beyond their control, yet they play a significant role in shaping people’s economic opportunities and are thus key drivers of inequality and its persistence over time. Understanding the role of place of birth is essential to understanding inequality of opportunities and social mobility, both of which directly affect overall inequality. This paper uses machine learning techniques and data from Colombia, one of the most unequal countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, to estimate inequality of opportunity and intergenerational education mobility indexes. The analysis incorporate place of birth and a more granular geographic lens to capture the extent of regional disparities. The findings show that 49 percent of the Gini income inequality is explained by circumstances at birth, and place of birth accounts for up to half of these inequalities. Intergenerational mobility measures at the department (province) level also reveal striking disparities in opportunities across the country. These findings underscore the critical role that place of birth plays in perpetuating inequality, providing important insights for policies aimed at promoting social mobility and reducing territorial disparities.Publication Malaysia Economic Monitor, October 2025: From Bytes to Benefits - Digital Transformation as a Catalyst for Public Sector Productivity(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-07)GovTech - the special topic of this edition - has the potential to act as a critical lever for boosting public sector productivity and sustaining Malaysia’s transition to a digitally driven, high-income economy, which in turn will enable private sector growth and higher quality jobs for Malaysians. The country has committed significant financial resources to digitalization - investing billions in platforms such as MyGovCloud, MyDigital ID, and interoperable data systems - making it one of the region’s most ambitious GovTech reformers. However, international experience shows that investments in digital technology alone does not guarantee impact; without the adequate analogue complements - robust institutions, cross-government coordination, transparent data governance, and a digitally skilled workforce - digital investments risk fueling disillusionment rather than delivering productivity gains for governments and societies. The window for action is narrow as citizens’ expectations rise alongside escalating investments. Delays in strengthening the enabling environment could erode public trust and slow Malaysia’s digital momentum. Malaysia has already begun addressing these gaps through the creation of the Ministry of Digital, the Jabatan Digital Negara, and nationwide skills initiatives, yet challenges remain in integration, transparency, and uneven adoption across ministries and regions. To fully realize the digital dividends, Malaysia must move decisively to strengthen digital foundations, empower institutions, and put citizens at the center of reform - ensuring GovTech becomes a vehicle for efficiency, and a driver of trust, inclusion, and sustainable growth.Publication Industrial Decarbonization in East Asia: Transforming Energy, Finance, Technology, and Jobs(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-08-26)This report is the first to systematically address the complex challenge of industrial decarbonization in East Asia, one of the world’s most dynamic economic areas. Drawing on original data and in-depth assessments of three key economies - China, Indonesia, and Viet Nam, the report identifies viable technical pathways, unveils implementation challenges, and offers a comprehensive policy package to accelerate the transition to net-zero industry.Publication Financing Climate Adaptation and Nature-Based Infrastructure(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-14)This report assesses opportunities to increase private sector participation and financing for climate adaptation and nature-based infrastructure in Emerging and Developing Economies (EMDEs). Climate change is intensifying hydrological variability, coastal storms, and heatwaves, and these effects are anticipated to intensify as global temperatures continue to rise in the coming decades. The impacts of climate change will be felt hardest in EMDEs, which are structurally the most vulnerable to climate change. These climate trends are also combining with economic and population growth to drive unprecedented impacts on nature, including biodiversity, ecosystems, and the services they provide.Publication Driving Digital Transformation and Inclusion: Fast Payments in Latin America and the Caribbean(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-01)Fast payments are transforming digital finance ecosystems in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by improving the speed, affordability, and user experience of digital payments. This report provides one of the first regionally-focused, cross-country analyses of fast payments data, leveraging a unique dataset derived from a survey of 11 central banks in LAC countries with operational fast payment systems: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru. The report analyzes transactional data and information on the FPS design characteristics and governance models. Based on this analysis and the World Bank’s regional and country- level engagements with policy makers and FPS operators, the report also offers several key policy messages.