No more fuel to the fire

The global energy crisis has exposed critical vulnerabilities in the energy systems of Southeast Asian nations, particularly their reliance on imported fossil fuels. While governments in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Viet Nam have implemented short-term measures to mitigate price shocks and secure fuel supplies, the report argues that these responses fail to address underlying vulnerabilities. It calls for an acceleration of fossil fuel phasedowns, a reconsideration of natural gas as a transition fuel, and a prioritisation of renewable energy scale-ups and energy efficiency to build long-term resilience.

• The energy crisis has highlighted severe energy security vulnerabilities across Southeast Asia due to a heavy reliance on energy imports to support economic growth, with most ASEAN countries being net importers of fossil fuels.
• Specific national impacts of the crisis include power system stress in the Philippines due to high fuel prices and low gas production, coal shortages and increased import costs in Viet Nam, and Thailand's return to phased-out fuels and new fossil fuel exploration.
• Government responses in Viet Nam, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines have primarily focused on short-term goals, such as minimizing consumer price impacts and securing upstream fossil fuels, rather than addressing long-term structural vulnerabilities.
• The volatility and high cost of energy markets have challenged the viability of natural gas as a transition fuel and underscored the need to accelerate the phasedown of fossil fuels instead of relying on projected demand increases through 2030.
• While some countries introduced renewable energy support in 2022, most measures are temporary or visionary; the report suggests prioritizing short- to mid-term scale-ups through investment and network upgrades, noting Indonesia's new tariff design as a specific support for investment.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2022). No more fuel to the fire. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/no-more-fuel-to-the-fire

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. No more fuel to the fire. 2022. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/no-more-fuel-to-the-fire.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=No more fuel to the fire |date=11 November 2022 |url=http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/no-more-fuel-to-the-fire |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2022more, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{No more fuel to the fire}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/no-more-fuel-to-the-fire}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }