Asia Pacific Update: December 10
In today’s edition, we examine how governments in the Asia Pacific region are prioritising renewable energy in economic recovery. Meanwhile, a new piece of research from our Media Genius team outlines how the world will take shape following the Coherence Crash that has taken place throughout 2020.
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Recovery Spotlight: renewable energy
During the 37th ASEAN summit hosted by Vietnam, member states committed to promoting a “sustainable recovery” through the Asean Comprehensive Recovery Framework. This represented the region’s commitment to emerging from the pandemic in an environmentally conducive manner.
In Singapore, a major resources brand has halved its crude processing capacity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in a bid to be carbon neutral by 2050. Similarly, the same brand will permanently shutter its 110,000 barrel-per-day facility in the Philippines, one of only two oil refineries in the archipelago. Japan’s biggest refiner permanently shut its 115,000 barrels-per-day crude distillation unit at its Osaka refinery. New Zealand’s only refinery will be closed and converted into a fuel import terminal.
President Tsai Ing-wen has shared that Taiwan will continue to promote green energy, noting that it is imperative to the island’s position in the global supply chain. Initiatives to boost renewables include the National Development Council’s countrywide financing mechanism – set to inject a total of NT$100 billion (US$3.5 billion) in investment in renewable infrastructure projects.
Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has appointed two new officials to oversee the country’s renewable energy sector as the country seeks to develop clean energy while ramping up oil production. The Ministry has been tasked with ensuring that renewable energy constitutes 23% of the country’s energy mix.
Thailand’s National Alternative Energy Development Plan requires that the country’s renewable power generation capacity reach 16,788 megawatts by 2036. Electric vehicles have also been identified as a key aspect to the nation’s economic recovery. This comes on the back of the country’s realisation that its oil and gas reserves are shrinking – with renewable energy now anticipated to drive the country’s economic recovery.
Carbon Neutrality by 2050
On the back of the South Korea’s Green New Deal, the government has pledged to go carbon neutral by 2050. Lee Hyoung-il, Director General at the Finance Ministry’s policy bureau shared that the country planned to invest in sectors such as electric cars, biohealth, system semiconductors, and low-carbon industries in 2021.
During his inaugural address to the Japanese Diet, Japan’s Prime Minister Suga laid out his policy for the nation, including a goal for carbon neutrality by 2050 – an increase from the previous goal of 80% emissions reduction by 2050. This follows local governments and the Japanese Business Federation calling for carbon neutrality. Suga also announced a US$19.2 billion (2 trillion yen) fund to assist green projects over the coming decade, including hydrogen planes and carbon recycling. However, some Japanese companies have raised concerns about the availability and cost of renewable energy as more brands expect renewable energy be used across the supply chain.
Hong Kong SAR has declared that it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through a combination of green financing, long-term waste management, and electric vehicle popularisation campaigns. In addition, the government has invested in reduction of emissions and the development of new environmental projects to create jobs.
Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas are aspiring towards a net-zero goal by 2050.
Status quo?
Despite a drop in global crude oil prices, Vietnam’s state oil firm has produced 18.12 million tons of crude oil and gas, and 10.2 million tons of refined petroleum product, keeping it on track to meet yearly production targets. The firm is the largest contributor to Vietnam’s state budget and often accounts for more than 10% of the country’s annual GDP.
Methodology
Media analysis of stories covering Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia, Macau, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam from 10 November to 10 December 2020.
This briefing was prepared by the Weber Shandwick Insight and Intelligence team in Singapore. If you feel a specialised briefing and analysis bulletin could benefit your team, please get in touch: enquiryapac@webershandwick.com.
DEEPER INSIGHTS: A New Approach to Sensemaking
“Today, a coherence crash is unfolding before our eyes, exemplified by the decline of existing world orders like religion, marriage, higher education, and trust in media and government. All heightened by major climate events, technology acceleration, and the most critical election in modern history. As part of our ongoing mission, we began researching how people seek meaning, coherence, and personal agency in the face of such widespread uncertainty.” – What Comes After the Coherence Crash
A new piece of research from Weber Shandwick’s Media Genius team examines how the world is taking shape following the vast upheaval faced across numerous sectors and geographies in 2020 – and the implications for marketers.
About COVID-19 Recovery Report:
- The content of this news bulletin is a summary of publicly available news articles on events and developments related to COVID-19.
- The views and opinions reflected by these headlines do not necessarily represent those of Weber Shandwick.