Today until June 7, clean energy experts, practitioners, policymakers, implementers, and financiers will gather in Manila for the annual Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) organized by the Asian Development Bank. This year’s theme is “Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition and Ensuring Energy Security and Affordability—Time for Urgent Action Now.”
The term “accelerating” is thrown about each year by ACEF in the context of building a clean energy future in the region. But this should not be about some distant future. We are already seeing and experiencing the devastating effects of climate change, such as extreme climate events and disasters. To avoid a climate catastrophe, countries agreed under the Paris Agreement to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius level of warming. This requires a 45-percent reduction of global emissions by 2030 and reaching zero emissions by 2050. This means a rapid, just, and equitable phasing out of…
