Ukraine war hits plan to support clean energy in Asia

Ukraine war hits plan to support clean energy in Asia while the demand for gas in Europe causing many countries in this region to compete with Asian countries This further drives up fossil energy prices.

Russia’s protracted war in Ukraine affects the European energy market. It also affects the goals of combating the problem of climate change in various Asian countries.

Take, for example, the case of “Asanka Sampath”, a 43-year-old clerk at a factory who has to constantly check text messages on her mobile phone. And stay up to date on social media to see if the oil has arrived or not. because if you come late It could lead to long queues to buy oil that lasted several days.

“I need to carefully check the information and follow up on this matter,” Sampath said.

The situation with the 43-year-old Sri Lankan clerk perfectly reflects the problems facing the island’s 22 million Sri Lankans right now amid the worst economic crisis due to heavy debt burden. Loss of tourism revenue due to the COVID-19 outbreak and increased costs in various fields

While the political turmoil as a result of the economic crisis that led to the creation of a new government was not as smooth as many expected due to the problem of the Russian war in Ukraine to add more pressure. This war is wreaking havoc on global energy markets.

European gas demand causing countries in the region to compete with Asian countries This further drives up fossil energy prices in the view of “Tim Buckley, director of the Climate Group, Energie Finance.

In the case of Japan and Korea, which are considered the most developed countries in Asia. It is aggressively pushing for nuclear power after Russia launched a war with Ukraine in February. and economic sanctions that prohibit the importation of Russian coal and gas. It made Japan have to turn to alternative energy sources. Although there is still a trend against the use of nuclear power. After the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster occurred 11 years ago.

But the Japanese summer has arrived early. causing insufficient power problems and make the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Safety checks are needed to bring nuclear reactors back up and running.

However, the Japanese government aims to use nuclear power no more than a quarter of the total energy used in the country. which many parties consider It’s an overly optimistic goal. Considering Japan’s current energy use indicates that nuclear power will play a huge role in the country’s energy consumption.

South Korea Even neighboring countries have not been affected in the short term by the war in Ukraine. Because South Korea imports natural gas from Qatar and Australia. and imports of oil from the Middle East, but South Korea could be indirectly affected by European countries that seek energy from the same producing countries. may make energy prices more expensive

South Korean government Support the use of electricity from nuclear power plants like Japan. and has been reluctant to reduce its reliance on coal and natural gas. because he saw that there was still a need to stimulate the domestic economy

Looking at China and India, these two countries are accelerating domestic energy generation to meet domestic demand. in the short term China and India are relying on coal-burning power. which is the cheapest and dirtiest fuel It is also a major contributor to atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions.

China is now the world’s number one greenhouse gas emitter. Although the Beijing government aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2060, but since the war in Ukraine China is not just turning to import more fossil energy from Russia. but also increased domestic coal production.

In addition, the war in Ukraine drought crisis and the domestic energy crisis It also increases the pressure on China to focus on generating electricity for people. rather than reducing the use of coal that has an environmental impact.

while india It plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero about 10 years later than China, with India being the world’s third largest carbon emission country.

In the past, India needed very little energy. But in the next few years India’s energy demand is expected to outpace other countries, and India is also expected to spend $233 billion on its budget. in order to achieve the goal of using clean energy by 2030.

With this enormous demand for energy India is therefore looking to accelerate coal production to reduce its dependence on expensive foreign energy imports. For this reason, India is against the Western nations. By continuing to be a Russian oil customer

Indonesia, the country’s most clearly affected by high oil prices, said on Tuesday (Oct 3) that Indonesia’s September inflation rate hit 5.95%. year on year After a 4.69% increase in August due to high fuel prices.