AN interactive data hub that would assist countries, including the Philippines, in their efforts to shift from fossil-based to zero-carbon was launched in Thailand on Thursday.
The Southeast Asia Information Platform for the Energy Transition, or SIPET, is a pioneering interactive knowledge and coordination platform designed to help overcome persistent communication and coordination challenges faced by thousands of clean energy stakeholders in the region.
“We designed SIPET as an open-source, transparent platform to encourage practitioners, experts, and advocates across Southeast Asia [SEA] to coordinate and exchange information in a more seamless and inclusive manner. We hope to elevate the quality of dialogue in the region as we aim to speed up and scale up the transition to sustainable energy,” said Renato Redentor Constantino, executive director of the Manila-based think tank Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), said.
The data hub was launched by the regional initiative Clean, Affordable, and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) to help accelerate the region’s energy transition. ICSC is the expert organization of CASE in the Philippines.
“We share so much in Southeast Asia such as storms, as the Philippines and Vietnam experienced days ago when supercharged Typhoon ‘Karding’ [international code name Noru] hammered our respective countries. There is no reason why we should not also share data, insights, and analysis to help the region transition to modern energy services so we can move forward together,” said Constantino.
The role of SIPET in accelerating the energy transition will prove critical, as energy demand is projected to grow by 80 percent in 2050. Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam represent nearly three-quarters of total power generation in the region.
Some of the common challenges in coordinating the shift to clean, sustainable energy include the lack of institutional capacity, a dearth of platforms for timely information and intelligence sharing, and persistent duplication of work because stakeholders are unaware of activities undertaken by other practitioners and advocates.
SIPET is believed to address these challenges by providing a suite of power sector resources, a project database and mapping tool, a knowledge-sharing hub, and a community forum for energy transition professionals.
“Through SIPET, we aim to facilitate the narrative in the power sector towards an evidence-based energy transition that robustly supports the region’s development strategies, and towards joint actions that secure a clean, affordable and secure energy future for Southeast Asia,” said Simon Rolland, Energy Project Director of German Agency for International Cooperation.