The Asia Climate Finance Podcast Joseph Jacobelli

The world’s offshore wind installed capacity reached 117 gigawatts in 2023, up 50% over 2022. It is projected to reach 320 GW by 2030. We discuss with Asia energy markets veteran Mark Hutchinson the recently released Global Wind Report 2024 by Global Wind Energy Council. We have a quick review of 2023, focus on a couple of the key take aways, share some thoughts on some key Asia Pacific offshore wind markets, discuss the state of capital investments and financing, and finally look beyond 2024.

ABOUT MARK. Mark Hutchinson has over three decades of energy sector experience, including over 25 years consulting and research experience in Asia. He has expertise in strategic advice, finance, M&A, contract negotiations and due diligence in the power and renewables, and the oil and gas sectors. He is the chair of the Southeast Asia Task Force for the Global Wind Energy Council. Mark works with the GWEC members in Asia and globally to represent the wind industry in policy and regulatory discussions across the region. GWEC convenes both in-person and virtual meetings with key stakeholders, providing fact-based analysis and guidance to help shape policies that affect the wind industry.
HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep0-29 The Open Goldberg Variations, Kimiko Ishizaka Ep30- Orchestra Gli Armonici – Tomaso Albinoni, Op.07, Concerto 04 per archi in Sol - III. Allegro. | FEEDBACK: Email the Host.

Scaling up energy efficiency can for 11 per cent of cumulative emissions reductions by 2030 according to the IEA. In this episode energy industry veteran Alexander Ablaza, explains why energy efficiency the most important pieces of the energy transition although it is often unjustifiably ignored. He discusses in detail business and finance trends in the sector as well as examining the many investments opportunities, and the challenges, with energy efficiency in the Asia Pacific region.

ABOUT ALEXANDER: Alexander Ablaza is CEO of Climargy Inc. The last 23 years of his 38-year professional career have been dedicated to growing energy efficiency and other clean energy technology deployment in 14 Asian markets through the identification, due diligence and financial close of over $3 billion in direct investments, and also through catalytic market transformation, policy, regulatory, fund mobilization and transaction support interventions. He designed and established Climargy, a global pioneer private Super ESCO aggregator of ESCO project assets hosted by the C&I sector in Asian growth markets. He convened, founded, and chairs the Asia-Pacific ESCO Industry Alliance and the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance. He likewise co-founded and sits in the Advisory Board of the Global ESCO Network and co-chairs the Marketplace Taskforce of the global coalition, Mission Efficiency. He is armed with 35 years of project and corporate management experience, an aggregate 29 years of energy sector involvement, and an educational background in engineering (BSCE) and economics (MBE). 
HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep0-29 The Open Goldberg Variations, Kimiko Ishizaka Ep30- Orchestra Gli Armonici – Tomaso Albinoni, Op.07, Concerto 04 per archi in Sol - III. Allegro. | FEEDBACK: Email the Host.

In this episode podcast, we’re privileged to host two seasoned stalwarts of the heavy industry, Genevieve Hilton and Steve Willis. Their unexpected pivot has led them to channel their vast experience into a compelling work of fiction: ‘Fairhaven: A Novel of Climate Optimism’ (Habitat Press, 2024). This isn’t just a novel; it’s a beacon illuminating the pressing climate issues that our planet grapples with. Our conversation takes a deep dive into Genevieve’s and Steve’s transformative journey towards net-zero. We then shift our focus to three innovative climate solutions, not mere theoretical constructs, but viable both project-wise and financially, as explored in the novel. We also touch upon the topic of corporate sustainability and underscore the paramount importance of raising awareness. This episode isn’t just a discussion; it’s a thought-provoking exploration of climate change from a truly unique vantage point. Tune in for an enlightening experience.

ABOUT GENEVIEVE. Genevieve Hilton has worked in corporate affairs and sustainability in the Asia Pacific region since 1994. She previously led ESG and communications in Asia Pacific for Lenovo, as well as Corporate Citizenship and External Communications Asia Pacific for BASF. Since taking a step back from the corporate world in 2022, she has become a full-time sustainability activist and writer. Under the pen name Jan Lee, she is an award-winning science fiction writer. She is the co-author, with Steve Willis, of "Fairhaven – A Novel of Climate Optimism" (Habitat Press UK), a winner in the Green Stories contest. Her work has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and recognized several times in the “Writers of the Future” contest. She also is Editor-in-Chief of The Apostrophe, the quarterly magazine of the Hong Kong Writers Circle. She currently acts as a senior advisor for a number of environmental and social activist organizations, as well as co-chairing the Energy & ESG Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong.

ABOUT STEVE. Steve Willis is an engineer and innovator with decades of experience providing solutions to environmental problems for large scale industries. The start of the covid lockdowns gave him pause to think carefully about climate solutions, what was needed and what it would take to get there. This led to a collaboration with the GreenStories team to produce the No More Fairy Tales anthology for COP27. Steve continues to work on large scale climate solutions, currently developing a CO2 sequestration mineralisation process which can be deployed at the million tonne scale.
HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep0-29 The Open Goldberg Variations, Kimiko Ishizaka Ep30- Orchestra Gli Armonici – Tomaso Albinoni, Op.07, Concerto 04 per archi in Sol - III. Allegro. | FEEDBACK: Email the Host.

One of the rapidly growing areas in climate business and finance is the purchase by corporations of clean energy. This is frequently referred to as corporate renewable energy procurement. Such purchases jumped 12% to 46 gigawatts in 2023 according to BNEF. Our guest is Suji Kang, the programme director of Asia Clean Energy Coalition, an organisation dedicated to corporate renewable energy procurement in Asia. Members include major multinationals such as Amazon, Google, Ikea, and many others. We discussed a variety of topics including the broad picture of what is happening in the region, the work of Suji’s organisation with governments, and the challenges currently faced.

ABOUT SUJI: Suji Kang is the Asia Program Director of Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC) where she is responsible for engaging all members and stakeholders to create a favourable policy and market environment for the company’s clean energy procurement across the Asia Pacific region. Suji has ten years of experience in the public-, private-, non-profit sectors in energy and environment industry. She has worked as a director of K-RE100 solutions team at ROOT ENERGY, a private start-up company providing consulting and procurement services for renewable energy projects for companies in Korea. Prior to that Suji served as Regional Manager of Asia at the World Energy Council, based in London. Prior public experience includes her lead on international cooperation and external affairs team in Korea Energy Foundation. Suji is a graduate of McGill University with Bachelor’s degree in Management and currently studying for Msc in Energy and Environment at Korea University. She is a native speaker of Korea, fluent in English and conversational French.
HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep0-29 The Open Goldberg Variations, Kimiko Ishizaka Ep30- Orchestra Gli Armonici – Tomaso Albinoni, Op.07, Concerto 04 per archi in Sol - III. Allegro. | FEEDBACK: Email the Host.

Some of the climate business and finance trends in Europe and the US are highly applicable to the Asian experience. In this episode, energy media specialist Pamela Largue provides some clarity on some of these trends. We first briefly chat about her organisation, Enlit World, an important source of sector news and trends through publications and conferences. We then discuss Pamela’s latest findings after participating at Enlit industry conferences in Europe (energy security) and the US (energy costs and the I.R.A.). Finally, we have a quick chat about Pamela’s own podcast, the Energy Transitions Podcast.

ABOUT PAMELA. Pamela Largue is senior reporter on Power Engineering International, a daily news site with a 25-year-plus heritage of covering the power generation sector. She writes about all aspects of the energy industry in news articles, features, and interviews. She is also the host of the Energy Transitions Podcast, which magnifies the future energy landscape through the lenses of industry movers and shakers. Pamela holds a post-graduate degree in Social Anthropology and has worked in media and energy events for more than 12 years.
HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep0-29 The Open Goldberg Variations, Kimiko Ishizaka Ep30- Orchestra Gli Armonici – Tomaso Albinoni, Op.07, Concerto 04 per archi in Sol - III. Allegro. | FEEDBACK: Email the Host.

Our guest is Mike Thomas who heads The Lantau Group, a Hong Kong-based consultancy, and who is one of the leading energy economics thinkers in the Asia Pacific region. As it is the beginning of the year, Mike evaluates a small sample of the many developments in the region’s climate business and finance in 2023. He also shares a few thoughts on 2024 and beyond. We discuss some specific markets including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and China as well as examine some of the major themes such as the ASEAN grid, offshore wind, and grid capacity. Mike truly offers some unique perspectives thanks to his vast experience and extensive work with corporates, governments, and financial institutions.
Link: research by The Lantau Group.
Previous Episode with Mike: Ep23 Temperature check on the energy transition in Asia, ft Mike Thomas, 20 December 2022

ABOUT MIKE: Mike Thomas is a founding partner at The Lantau Group with over 30 years of consulting experience, focussing on the energy sector.  He advises a wide range of energy sector stakeholders on strategic, regulatory, and competition matters; sustainability; market design and development; and commercial transactions.  Prior to co-founding in 2010, he headed the Asia Pacific Energy & Environment practice of a global consulting firm.  Mike has an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School, United States and a BA in Economics from Carleton College, United States. More specifically, within the Asia Pacific region, he has led many significant engagements involving the robust application of economics and analytics to a wide variety of business, policy, and regulatory challenges affecting the electricity and gas sectors.  He works extensively with multinationals on sustainability strategies, focussing on the best options in different markets, and on the regulatory and policy changes needed to support increasing renewable energy contracting options.  He has testified or advised as an industry economic expert in commercial contract disputes before courts or arbitral panels in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia, and on disputed regulatory matters before regulatory authorities in New Zealand, Australia, and the Philippines.  His experience in commercial matters includes market forecasts and revenue simulations for numerous renewable energy and conventional energy projects and market assessments in South Asia, North Asia, ASEAN, and Australia/New Zealand. 
HOST, PRODUCTION, ARTWORK: Joseph Jacobelli | MUSIC: Ep0-29 The Open Goldberg Variations, Kimiko Ishizaka Ep30- Orchestra Gli Armonici – Tomaso Albinoni, Op.07, Concerto 04 per archi in Sol - III. Allegro. | FEEDBACK: Email the Host.