Asean's growing carbon trading initiatives present vast opportunities for emissions reduction and economic growth, but equitable frameworks and robust regulations are critical to their success.
Asean needs to develop a collective response to the geopolitics of renewable energy in order to address resource nationalism and the adverse impacts of growing US-China rivalry on Southeast Asia's energy transition.
If policymakers can overcome the remaining technological, regulatory, and financial barriers, the COP28 goal of tripling renewable-energy capacity by 2030 will be well within reach – with solar leading the way.