IASA Deputy Director General for Science Leena Srivastava participated in the Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ) / Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) International Energy Symposium exploring the multiple pathways to carbon neutrality for Asian developing countries.

With more than 150 countries officially pledging to achieve carbon neutrality by around mid-century, the world is already on board a journey toward carbon neutrality. At the COP26 in November 2021, the participating countries reaffirmed their commitment to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and it is inevitable that in a not-so-distant future and before 2030, the transitional year, countries and regions not only strengthen their climate change efforts but also face more international pressures against the future use of fossil fuels such as coal.

On the other hand, last year, energy security issues linked to the stability and affordability of energy supply were once again highlighted by soaring energy prices especially for natural gas in addition to tighter power supply and demand in Japan, Texas, Europe, and other regions. During the transition period to carbon neutrality by around mid-century, energy security must be taken into consideration along with the industrial structure, social structure, and geographical condition of each country and region. To ensure a balanced price formation, steady upstream investment in oil and gas fields should be encouraged since especially developing economies including Asia which is already considered the future growth center for the world must quickly expand their generation capacity with fossil fuel power stations, including affordable gas-fired power plants.

At the 7th IEEJ/APERC international energy symposium offer global stakeholders viewpoints on multiple pathways to carbon neutrality through discussions among prominent experts from various nationalities and backgrounds. Srivastava will join Session 2 “Asian developing countries’ pathways to carbon neutrality” to discuss how can Asian developing countries realize carbon neutrality and what kind of support Asian developing countries need to accelerate their reach to carbon neutrality.

Presenters and Panelists:

  1. Ms. Yukari Yamashita, Managing Director, IEEJ
  2. Dr. Han Phoumin, Senior Energy Economist, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia(ERIA)
  3. Dr. Leena Srivastava, Deputy Director General for Science, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
  4. Dr. Dina Azhgaliyeva, Research Fellow, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)