The impact of climate change in Southeast Asia is expected to worsen, which will affect the wider adoption of clean energy in the region, according to a latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

And of the 10 nations comprising the region, the Philippines is among the most affected in the region.

The IEA report titled “Climate Resilience for Energy Security in Southeast Asia” released in July this year said frequent and intense heatwaves, and intense tropical cyclones clearly demonstrate the region is also getting the brunt of climate change.

“Rising temperatures have altered precipitation patterns and increased flood risks beyond the world average. In addition, the region is experiencing intensified tropical cyclones, particularly affecting countries like Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam,” the report said.

Based on a scorecard for each Southeast Asian country, Singapore and Brunei are the least vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the five categories: warming; river floods; coastal flood; drought; and tropical cyclone. Singapore got a score of “low exposure” in all the five categories, while Brunei was seen to have low exposure to river flood and coastal flood, and “medium exposure” to warming, drought and tropical cyclone.

On the other hand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar got a “high exposure” score in at least two of the categories, clearly showing their vulnerability to climate change.
In particular, the Philippines got a high exposure score in the coastal flood and tropical cyclone categories; and medium exposure in warming, river flood, and warming.

When it comes to numerical scores, the Philippines had the highest score for the tropical cyclone category, or 9.2, and the second highest score at 8.6 for coastal flood. Vietnam had the highest score for coastal flood at 9.6 and river flood at 9.9.

TO AFFECT CLEAN ENERGY ADOPTION

The IEA report warned that worsening climate impact will affect the adoption of clean energy in the region, most specially solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

“Higher temperatures may lead to less solar power generation by degrading generation efficiency and increasing the electrical resistance, while damaging cells and other materials,” it added.

Climate change will also have an impact on power plants fueled by natural gas, as these are vulnerable to increasing temperature that can affect their cooling systems.
“Similarly, natural gas-fired power plants can see a decrease in power generation due to a reduced air mass flow and increasing temperature of cooling water,” the IEA added.

“Particularly in a high-emissions scenario, nearly 70% of solar PV and over 90% of natural gas-fired power plants would see more than 20 hot days above 35 degrees Celsius thresholds by 2100, presenting a notable increase from the current level,” the report further said.

The IEA also expressed concern over the fact that nearly half of the installed capacity for solar PV and hydropower are located in cyclone-prone areas, while over 40% of wind turbines and over 20% of electricity grids are also exposed to tropical cyclones.
Facilities for fossil fuel-based systems also face challenges from the worsening climate, particularly storage systems.

“Some refineries located in coastal and cyclone-prone areas could face severe coastal floodings or storm surges as sea level rises and tropical cyclones intensify,” the report said.
To mitigate or minimize the impact of climate-related events on clean energy systems, the IEA said various measures need to be implemented to build climate resilience for energy security in Southeast Asia.

This will require the following measures, according to the agency:

1. Build robust climate data and conduct scientific assessments of climate risks and impacts;
2. Mainstream climate resilience into policies, regulations and guidelines;
3. Mobilize investment in climate resilience;
4. Promote energy efficiency to alleviate climate-related strain on energy systems;
5. Deploy nature-based solutions to reduce negative impacts of climate change;
6. Improve systems technically and physically to prevent and withstand damage;
7. Achieve technological and geographical diversification in energy supply; and
8. Adopt innovative digital technologies for early warning and fast recovery

“Despite notable progress in recent decades, the inadequate quality of observation data and climate projections in the region remains a major bottleneck for climate resilience, while the energy sector climate resilience is often neglected in climate change adaptation and resilience policies,” the IEA said.

(PHOTO FROM PIA)