Malaysia ranked first place in S-E Asia WEF Energy Transition Index

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has been recognised as the best country in Southeast Asia in the Energy Transition Index by the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently.

The index takes into account the system performance and the country's readiness to switch to more environmentally friendly energy sources.

According to Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, this achievement shows that Malaysia is on the right track to manage a fast, safe and affordable energy transition.

"Malaysia also has various strategic advantages such as a strategic location, diverse renewable energy sources (RES) and a high level of skills to become a regional leader in the field of energy transition," he said in a statement today.

According to him, Malaysia is expected to be able to seize the opportunity to attract global investments in the clean technology sector which has reached RM5 trillion in 2022.

This value is expected to continue to increase in the coming years, he said.

Meanwhile, on July 27, 2023, the Economy Ministry will launch the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) Phase 1 during the Invest Malaysia KL 2023 Special Series programme organised by Bursa Malaysia in collaboration with CLSA and Maybank in Kuala Lumpur.

The launch of NETR Phase 1 is the starting point in efforts to mainstream the energy transition of the national development narrative.

NETR will announce the implementation of 10 flagship pilot projects that are expected to generate investments amounting to RM25 billion, the creation of 23,000 high-quality job opportunities and the reduction of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by more than 10,000 gigagrammes per year cumulatively.

NETR is a comprehensive follow-up to the current policy reforms related to RES by the Economy Ministry and the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, particularly the new target increase of renewable energy installed capacity from 40 per cent in 2035 to 70 per cent by 2050.

The Economy Ministry hopes that NETR can drive a strategic agenda to create new high-paying job opportunities, boost domestic and foreign investment participation, ensure the continuity of the country's energy supply and make Malaysia a regional leader in the clean energy industry in the long term.

-- BERNAMA