As the Middle East conflict sends oil and gas prices soaring, Green Pulse hosts discuss if geopolitics will break ASEAN’s fossil fuel addiction.

Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times provides you with a South-east Asian perspective to global environmental challenges.

The war in the Middle East is causing energy prices around the world to spike, due to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz – an important shipping route for oil and gas – and attacks on fossil fuel production facilities.

For energy-importing nations, the volatility is no longer just an economic concern. It’s a matter of national security. Coming on the heels of the war in Ukraine, the latest crisis poses a difficult question: How can Singapore and its ASEAN neighbours insulate themselves from global shocks?

Green Pulse hosts Audrey Tan and David Fogarty discuss energy security and the role of renewables in this episode.

Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):

3:19 Everyone is scrambling for fossil fuel supplies. Is this the time to be talking about renewables?

5:54 This latest energy crisis needs to accelerate the birth of the ASEAN Power Grid.

7:06 What lessons did the world learn from the 2022 energy crunch?

14:45 Boosting ASEAN’s energy resilience limits the region being held hostage by geopolitics.

19:17 ASEAN needs a clean-energy champion. Who will step up to rally the region?

Green Pulse LinkedIn newsletter: https://str.sg/green-pulse-nl

Follow Audrey Tan on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/848W

Read her articles: https://str.sg/JLM2

Follow David Fogarty on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/jcvy

Read his articles: https://str.sg/JLMu