The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) signed an agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to scale up renewable energy transition, IRENA announced Tuesday. IRENA's Director-General Adnan Z. Amin and ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of regional ministers on the sidelines of the 36th ASEAN Ministers on Energy meeting (AMEM) and the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW).
According to the statement, under the MoU, IRENA and ASEAN will work closely to strengthen and enable an environment for renewable energy investment and deployment as ASEAN pursues an aspirational target of 23 percent of primary energy from renewables by 2025.
"Based on IRENA analysis, achieving the target will require an estimated annual investment of $27 billion," the statement read. The partnership will see IRENA and ASEAN energy ministers work closely across a number of key implementation focus areas, including energy planning in the context of integration of high-shares of renewables to the ASEAN energy mix; and assessments and roadmaps for accelerated renewable energy deployment, including updates to the ASEAN Renewable Energy Outlook.
The agreement will also promote knowledge sharing among regional policy makers to implement enabling renewable energy policy and regulatory frameworks to capitalize on the social and economic benefits of scaled up renewables deployment; support the advancement of various renewable energy resources across ASEAN member states through detailed technology and innovation assessments and cost reduction potential analysis; and enable the development of bankable renewable energy projects and support for project facilitation through IRENA's various project facilitation platforms.
ASEAN member countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. Papua New Guinea has observer status.
