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The China Energy Transition Review 2025 by Ember analyzes China's rapid shift toward clean energy and electrification, detailing how its domestic policies and manufacturing scale are driving down global costs and pushing global fossil fuel demand toward a structural decline.

This policy brief evaluates hydrogen-based power generation in Southeast Asia, arguing that while renewable hydrogen is useful for seasonal storage and peaking, the current trend of co-firing in coal and gas plants in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Viet Nam is cost-inefficient and risks prolonging fossil fuel reliance. It recommends prioritizing renewable energy and grid infrastructure to lower costs and boost global competitiveness.

This technical explainer by RMI analyzes the voluntary carbon market (VCM) for ozone-depleting substances (ODS) recovery and destruction credits. It details how these projects provide high-additionality climate benefits by permanently destroying potent greenhouse gases like CFCs, while identifying significant logistical, legal, and technical barriers to scaling, particularly in developing nations.

This research paper by Poppy S. Winanti analyzes the responses of ASEAN member states to unprecedented U.S. tariffs imposed starting in April 2025. The author details how countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand have prioritized pragmatic negotiation and market diversification over retaliation due to their heavy export reliance on the U.S. market, while Singapore has adopted a cautious wait-and-see approach.

This fact sheet outlines the significant health and economic costs associated with livestock production and meat consumption. It links high red and processed meat intake to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, noting that such diets caused 0.9 million deaths globally in 2019. The document also highlights systemic risks from industrial farming, including zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and air pollution. Economically, it estimates that red and processed meat consumption resulted in USD 285 billion in global healthcare costs in 2020. Conversely, it argues that transitioning to plant-based diets, such as the EAT-Lancet planetary health diet, could prevent millions of deaths annually and save trillions of dollars in health and ecosystem costs.

The 'Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2024' report by the Climate Bonds Initiative provides a detailed analysis of aligned green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked (GSS+) debt as of the end of Q1 2025. It tracks cumulative volumes, quarterly trends, and the performance of various issuer types and sovereign nations, highlighting a total cumulative aligned volume of USD 5.9 trillion.

This briefing note by the Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS) examines the intersection of international trade and the sustainable bioeconomy. It provides a typology of trade-related policy instruments—including price-based measures, economic incentives, and regulatory requirements—that governments can use to promote nature-positive economic growth. The document emphasizes the need for international cooperation, particularly through the G20, to align these policies, avoid trade frictions, and support low- and middle-income countries in their transition to a sustainable bioeconomy.

This guide by the Climate Bonds Initiative provides a framework for investors to evaluate and engage with sovereign transition plans. It outlines key elements of credible planning, including science-based targets, detailed investment and policy roadmaps, and robust governance and transparency measures, aiming to help investors assess the long-term sustainability of sovereign asset exposures.

This report by Ember examines the energy demands and decarbonisation pathways for data centres in the ASEAN region, focusing on the intersection of AI-driven growth, tropical cooling requirements, and the availability of renewable energy.

This report examines the rapid expansion of data centres in Southeast Asia and the resulting pressure on power grids. It highlights that while the region is becoming a global hotspot for digital infrastructure, the reliance on fossil-fuel-dominated grids threatens climate targets, particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

This report examines the impact of rapid data centre growth in ASEAN on power sector emissions, highlighting that while these facilities could account for 2% to 30% of national power demand by 2030, approximately 30% of this demand could be met by solar and wind power without battery storage. The authors argue for urgent policy interventions, energy efficiency improvements, and expanded renewable procurement options to prevent the digital boom from derailing regional energy transition goals.

This briefing analyzes public clean energy investments and climate policies from China, Japan, South Korea, and Australia within the ASEAN region, specifically focusing on Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It details the dominance of China in overall public funding and specific technologies like wind and hydropower, Japan's leadership in geothermal and solar, and the strategic approaches of South Korea and Australia to integrate into the region's green economy.

This report by Ember discusses the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), a regional initiative to integrate electricity systems across Southeast Asia to maximize renewable energy potential and enhance energy security. It outlines the technical goals of the ASEAN Interconnection Master Plan Study (AIMS), the potential for unlocking additional solar and wind capacity through cross-border trade, and the institutional barriers that must be overcome to transition from bilateral trade to a cohesive regional market.

This report chapter by Ember examines the grid planning strategies of the ASEAN region, highlighting a significant gap between current national transmission expansion plans and the targets required to meet climate goals and rising electricity demand.

This report by Ember argues that modernizing and interconnecting electricity grids is the primary driver for unlocking solar and wind energy investment across ASEAN. It highlights a significant gap between current national transmission plans and the International Energy Agency's (IEA) requirements, while proposing a six-pillar framework for future-ready grid development to enhance regional energy security and economic growth.

This policy brief analyzes the implementation of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment (RtHE) in Southeast Asia. While legal frameworks exist, the document identifies significant gaps in procedural rights: information is often withheld due to commercial interests, public participation in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) is frequently superficial, and environmental courts face resource constraints and the risk of being weaponized via SLAPPs. The brief highlights community-led alternatives to EIAs and the role of independent grievance mechanisms and judicial capacity-building as key levers for improvement, noting the development of a regional ASEAN Declaration on RtHE as of December 2024.

This report by Global Energy Monitor and its partners analyzes global coal power trends in 2024, highlighting a contradiction between record-low new capacity additions globally and record-high construction starts in China and high proposal volumes in India. It specifically examines the strategies of South Korea and Japan to extend the life of coal plants through ammonia co-firing, arguing that these technologies are costly and inconsistent with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal.

Bangkok faces extreme light pollution, with inner city areas reaching the highest level (9) on the Bortle Scale. This artificial illumination disrupts human circadian rhythms—increasing risks of chronic diseases—and interferes with the behavior of nocturnal wildlife. Despite these risks, Thailand's current laws, including the Thailand Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act and the Public Health Act, lack specific provisions to regulate Artificial Light at Night (ALAN). The brief suggests that Bangkok adopt smart lighting and light curfews, similar to those in Paris and Hong Kong, to protect public health and ecosystems.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) examines the environmental, climate, health, and financial risks associated with the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure. It highlights how improper closure and the proliferation of abandoned wells lead to methane leaks and toxic contamination, while corporate strategies and regulatory loopholes often shift the massive financial burden of cleanup from operators to the public.

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the financial and technical viability of phasing out coal-powered electricity in Asia. It argues that prioritizing the cessation of new coal projects is critical, as most existing plants will have recouped their investment costs by 2040. The document critiques co-firing as an expensive and inefficient alternative to retirement and highlights innovative financing models—such as renewables bundling and PPA replacements—that can make early retirement financially attractive. It emphasizes the need for concessional financing from developed nations to ensure a just transition for coal-dependent communities.