Wendy Lo

IEA's Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2026 says the USD 160B fossil import bill will become standard, not exceptional. Renewables overtake coal for growth by 2035, but the ASEAN Power Grid needs new financing.

A hyperscale data center uses up to 20,000 tonnes of steel. Meranti Green Steel targets 600–700 kg CO₂/tonne by 2030 vs 2,300 kg for blast furnace steel, but EPD verification remains the key bottleneck.

Thailand's natural capital share of wealth fell from 21% to 11% since 2005. The World Bank says Thailand needs USD 219B in climate investment, with biodiversity credits as a new growth lever.

Johor rejected 30% of data center applications over water concerns and now bans Tier 1-2 approvals. AirTrunk's nWUE of 0.40 vs WUE of 0.89 shows why water sourcing matters more than efficiency scores.

Gulf Energy operates 247 MW in Vietnam and is evaluating new LNG and wind projects. The company targets 40%+ renewables by 2033 and completed an USD 18.2B merger with Intouch to enter data centers.

The Asia Pacific Data Centre Association's SDIA sets a 2030 water efficiency target of 1.8–2.0 L/kWh and calls for embodied carbon assessments, but ITAD infrastructure remains concentrated in Singapore.

SBTi's first major revision since 2021 lets companies count low-carbon product purchases toward Scope 3 targets, replaces 2050 pledges with five-year cycles, and tiers carbon credit use.

Vietnam’s electricity demand is rising rapidly. In late March, daily power consumption surpassed 1 billion kWh for the first time.