Energy production doesn’t need to be destructive- Chairman of Energy Asia
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HarryWu,journalistforSouthernFinanceOmnimediaCorp(SFC)
Asglobalenergydemandgrows,energytransitionisalsoimminent,whichisaparadoxinasense.
Taufik,ChairmanofEnergyAsia,saidinaninterviewwithSFCatEnergyAsia2025thatheremainspositiveaboutthefuture.Whilebuildingasustainablefuture,people'slivesneedtobeenriched,andtheenergyproducedtomeetthesedemandsisnotnecessarilydestructiveordisruptive,Taufiksaid.
AccordingtotheInternationalMonetaryFund,thecurrentpercapitaGDPofcountriesintheAsia-PacificregionrangesfromahighofUS$93,000toalowofUS$1,200.Morethan350millionpeopleintheAsia-Pacificregionhavelimitedaccesstoelectricity,and150millionpeopledonotevenhaveaccesstoelectricity.
TaufikemphasizedthateverycountryinAsiahastherighttopursueeconomicdevelopmentandneedstostrikeabalancebetweenpursuinggrowthresponsiblyandfairly.ThechallengesfacingAsiacannotbeignored.Evenwithabundantresources,thereisinequality,hesaid.
"Weneedtoensurethatallsocialclassescandevelopinthepursuitofeconomicprosperity.Wecan'tleavesegmentsofsocietybehindandIbelievethisisnotsomethingthatisaneither-orsituation."
AsAsiastrivestoachievenetzeroemissions,TawfikestimatedthatAsiawillstillneedUS$88.7trillioninenergyinvestmentby2050.Investmentandspendingwillstillbenecessaryinbothtraditionalandrenewableenergysystems.