To Southeast Asian Governments’ Delegation to the AZEC
We are writing to express the grave concerns of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) about the upcoming Asian Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting on August 20 to 21 in Jakarta, Indonesia. APMDD is a regional alliance of peoples’ movements, community organizations, coalitions, NGOs and networks. A crucial part of our work is advancing campaigns across Asia for a rapid, equitable and just transition out of fossil fuels and the development of renewable energy systems.
The AZEC regional partnership was proposed in 2022 by Japan, the world’s largest public financier of fossil fuels who invested $10.6 billion annually on fossil fuel projects from 2018 to 2021. AZEC’s stated goal of advancing towards carbon neutrality and creating broad partnerships towards this is commendable. However, we have serious reservations and even opposition regarding the nature of the pathway. The AZEC Leaders’ Joint Statement released last December 2023 emphasized a variety of technologies to be recognized in the pathway towards decarbonization. The mentioned technologies include Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), ammonia & hydrogen and its derivatives, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). We firmly believe that reliance on these technologies will significantly delay and compromise a decarbonization process that is consistent with the Paris goal of keeping global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees and well below 2 degrees Celsius. Some of these technologies even pose serious dangers and harm to communities and the environment.
Using Natural Gas or LNG contradicts the net-zero message of AZEC. LNG emits massive amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas whose global warming potential is 84-86 times worse than CO2 over a 20-year timeframe. When taking into account the emissions throughout the entire supply chain, an academic study has shown that LNGs are at most 64 percent worse for the climate than coal, when evaluated on a 100-year timescale. As the International Energy Agency itself emphasizes, if the world is to limit the global temperature rise to below 1.5C then no new gas projects must be in the pipeline.
Many studies find that fossil-based ammonia and hydrogen, despite emitting almost no greenhouse gasses during combustion, involve the emission of massive amounts of greenhouse gasses during their production. Ammonia production contributes to around 1.8 percent of all carbon dioxide contributions. A multi-model assessment of hydrogen found that its greenhouse gas potential could be around 11.6 worse than coal. Further, a big amount of the ammonia and hydrogen are leaked in every step of the process making production costly and inefficient. Fossil fuel plants that use ammonia and hydrogen for co-firing still release massive amounts of GHGs, almost comparable to using only fossil fuels, and increase the LCOE, making these options more out of reach for communities.
Relying on carbon capture utilization storage (CCUS) is very risky and will only hamper decarbonization efforts. There has not yet been any successful commercial-scale carbon capture project that delivers on projected capture rates. The technology has a long history of failure, it only increases energy costs which will be felt by the average consumer. Investments in CCUS technologies should instead be used for direct transitioning to renewable energy.
The Japanese government and its corporations hold massive amounts of capital in fossil fuel infrastructure and investments across Asia. As LNG demand in Japan and in other key markets wane, companies are looking to grow overseas demand to dump their surplus of natural gas. Investing in the priorities of AZEC only fuels the interests of Japan and not the wellbeing of Southeast Asia. This is evident in the current plans of Mitsui developing a liquified CO2 carrier for CCS in Malaysia, or the fossil fuel giant JERA collaborating with Indonesian companies on LNG chains, or Mitsubishi Heavy Industries fitting an existing plant with hydrogen and ammonia.
Southeast Asia is affected by ever worsening effects of climate change and stands as one of the most climate vulnerable countries. We have so much at stake in ensuring that real and rapid decarbonization is pursued.
What we need is a true pathway towards out of fossil fuel dependency and a massive investment into developing renewable energy.
Asia leads the world in renewables growth, yet over 99% of solar and wind potential in Southeast Asia remains untapped. As global markets for gas and oil remain volatile due to political and economic circumstances, renewables are fast becoming the cheapest option to power the homes in Southeast Asia. Thus, Japan has the opportunity and obligation to increase the scale of renewable installation in the region.
We urge the Country Delegations to the AZEC MInisterial Meeting to:
- Raise concerns about the current plans of AZEC to continue on the path of fossil fuel dependency with the promotion of technologies like natural gas, hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture and storage
- Reject future and planned MOUs to invest in those kinds of technologies
- Push for greater adoption of renewable energy investments, in line with country commitments and Nationally Determined Contributions
We sincerely hope that the Southeast Asian governments can lead the region towards a brighter future.
Respectfully,
Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development