MANILA (May 9, 2026) — As the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings conclude in Cebu under the chairmanship of Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) issued a sharp rebuke of the regional bloc’s current energy trajectory. The group demanded an immediate pivot away from “extractivist, debt-driven fossil fuel energy systems toward a just, 100% renewable energy system for Southeast Asia.”
The intervention comes as ASEAN leaders grapple with the economic fallout of the conflict in the Middle East, which has triggered a global fuel crisis and spiked electricity costs across the region. While ASEAN leaders have used the summit to discuss stockpiling oil and gas, APMDD warned that this “fossil fuel buildup” is a dangerous distraction.
“ASEAN is heading in the wrong direction,” said Lidy Nacpil, APMDD coordinator. “Instead of treating the global fuel crisis as a wake-up call to scale up decentralized renewables, leaders are doubling down on fossil gas and LNG infrastructure that will lock the region into decades of debt and climate vulnerability.”
Napcil outlined five urgent demands for ASEAN leadership to reshape the regional energy landscape, starting with a call to transform energy finance by rejecting over-reliance on debt-driven mechanisms, nonconcessional loans, and private investments. “Public finance must lead in the energy transition. In this spirit, ASEAN governments should stand firm in demanding grant-based climate finance and reparations from the Global North. They must also stop public financing and subsidies for the fossil fuel industries and redirect these funds to renewables,” she said.
To institutionalize energy democracy, Nacpil called for prioritization of decentralized and distributed renewable energy projects rather than mega-projects.
As the host and chair of the summit, President Marcos was urged “to exercise bold leadership to ensure the ASEAN Power Grid serves people over corporate profit.” APMDD highlighted the human cost of the current status quo, citing the displacement of fisherfolk, farmers, and Indigenous Peoples, as well as the rising respiratory illnesses linked to fossil fuel extraction.
“The future of Southeast Asia cannot be built on corporate greenwashing,” said Napcil. “President Marcos and ASEAN leaders must choose: protect the interests of energy corporations or safeguard the lives, rights, and health of their people.”
Furthermore, Nacpil emphasized the need to uphold human rights through the enforcement of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the creation of “No-Go Zones” to protect Indigenous lands and biodiversity. This vision includes a total phase-out of fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and large-scale mega-dams, which are viewed as dangerous distractions and ecologically destructive.
Nacpil said their demands seek to ensure universal, gender-just access to affordable energy, aiming to end regional energy poverty through a transition rooted in equity rather than corporate profit.
The 48th ASEAN Summit concludes amid intensifying climate impacts across the region, including record heatwaves and sea-level rise, which APMDD argues make a fossil-free transition not just an environmental necessity, but a matter of regional survival.
Contact:
Lani C. Villanueva
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