Action agenda can help Asia scale its energy transition

Amid a global energy crisis, international delegates gathered in Korea’s southwestern city of Yeosu this week for the third United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Week – a key stop on the road to this year's U.N. Climate Conference (COP).

Their discussions focused on the supply side of the energy story, such as how much wind and solar infrastructure is being built and which countries are pulling ahead. While supply is essential, it follows demand — and the demand side is where households most directly feel the impact. When the cost of energy rises, so does the cost of living.

With electricity demand growing faster in Asia than anywhere else, the region is now leading on the three fronts that drive the energy transition: electrification, energy efficiency and the grids that tie them together.

Scaling that leadership to the rest of the world is what the Global Climate Action Agenda is built to do. We drive this work that runs alongside the negotiations under the UNFCCC, where national governments, businesses, investors, cities and regions, and civil society turn political commitments into real change in people’s lives. The Action Agenda also allows Asia to share its innovations and learn from pioneers around the globe.

Electrification and sustainable fuels

Electrification is one of the most powerful levers in the energy transition, helping countries to both double energy efficiency and triple renewable capacity — the two goals agreed to by nearly 200 countries at COP28.

When homes, factories and vehicles switch to sustainable electric propulsion, two things happen: First, efficiency increases so emissions tend to fall, even on a grid still partly fossil-fuelled. Second, new demand can be met with new generation renewables, and solar and wind are usually the fastest and more affordable options.

Through the Action Agenda’s plan to accelerate electrification, the world’s largest power companies are investing $88 billion a year in renewable power. This is projected to triple their renewable generation capacity by 2030 and expand energy storage nearly fivefold.

For sectors which are more difficult to electrify, like heavy industry, shipping, aviation and ground transportation in some areas, the answer is sustainable biofuels and hydrogen. An Action Agenda plan on sustainable fuels, delivering a COP30 pledge spearheaded by Brazil, Japan, Italy and India, aims to quadruple their use.

Efficiency

Electrification reduces energy waste in most cases, but the gains go further when countries also target efficiency directly. Smarter buildings, tighter appliance standards and industrial processes all help reach the same goal: lower bills for families and businesses and lower emissions across the board.

ASEAN has targeted a 40 percent cut in energy intensity, boosting efficiency by cutting the amount of energy consumed per unit of economic growth. Korea has built industrial audits, strict building standards, and a target of 32.8% lower building emissions by 2030 into its national strategy.

These are exactly the targets the Action Agenda plan on doubling energy efficiency, including stakeholders from across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is designed to scale globally. Hitting global targets by 2030 would cut CO₂ emissions by 50 percent, while creating roughly 4.5 million new jobs and lowering household energy bills by a third in advanced economies. Additionally, a plan on just and inclusive planning is building the policy tools to ensure jobs and savings reach workers and households.

Grids and storage

All of this relies on grids and storage. Globally, power is being built faster than the infrastructure to deliver it: More than 3,000 gigawatts of renewable projects — enough to power billions of homes — are sitting in connection queues, waiting years to plug in. The lack of investment in grid infrastructure is the biggest constraint on the energy transition. At COP30, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank committed $12.5 billion toward a fully interconnected regional grid by 2045, part of the ASEAN Power Grid Financing Initiative. A linked Southeast Asian grid system could cut the cost of the region's decarbonization by an estimated $800 billion.

The Action Agenda carries this work globally. A plan to expand power grids supports the delivery of 1,500 gigawatts of storage and a doubling of annual grid investment toward $1 trillion per year by 2035.

One plan, four parts

Decarbonize the demand. Make energy use more efficient. Build the grids and storage. Increase the use and production of sustainable fuels. That is the transition and it is benefitting people's daily lives: in the cars they drive, the machines powering their homes, lower energy bills, cleaner air, and reduced energy waste.

None of this waits for the next COP. The transition is already happening in Asian cities and factories. The Action Agenda's job is to take what is already working and make it bigger, faster, and global.

This week’s gathering in Yeosu is where we pick up the pace.

Samed Ağırbaş is a sustainability leader and climate action advocate. He is currently serving as Climate High-Level Champion for COP31 and president of the Zero Waste Foundation. Dan Ioschpe has been appointed as the Climate High-Level Champion for COP30 in 2025. He has extensive industry leadership experience.