Wind turbin towers in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) In Southeast Asia, for instance, energy demand has increased an averageof roughly 3% a year for the past two decades – with fossil fuels meeting asizeable portion of this, he said.
The International Energy Agency noted that coal, natural gas, and oil are thelargest contributors to the region’s energy mix, adding that fossil fuelimports are key to powering the region.
The same IEA report found that the region isundergoing a steady worsening in its energy trade balance, as fossil fueldemand outpaces local production. It is, therefore, important if the region couldmake the transition to renewable and sustainable energy faster from an economicperspective as well as an environmental one. Furthermore, this would also be inline with governments’ aspirations across Southeast Asia to realise long-termplans for a more secure and sustainable future.
He said that due to the rising demand for digitalised services, theregion has seen an unprecedented boom in the market for data centres, citing globalmanagement consulting firm Kearney’s study which said the region’s data centrecolocation market is projected to grow by 16.5% from 2019 to 2026 with a valueof 6.5 billion USD.
Unfortunately,data centres come with massive carbon footprints due to the tremendous amountsof electricity consumed, water utilised, and carbon emissions generated.
They must prioritise technology, energy and water efficiency, andsustainability in their operations, he said, adding key to sustainable developmentof the centres is to pen strategic plans to branch out digital infrastructure.
He stressed that the push for renewable energy and sustainable practicesin both energy and data centre sectors is crucial to efforts for a brighterfuture without dampening economic growth, adding Southeast Asian countries couldmake contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and shaping up asustainable environment in the future./.
VNA
