Photo 1. Group Photo of the 9th CEFIA Forum Panellists.
The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan co-organised the 9th Government - Private Forum on Cleaner Energy Future Initiative for ASEAN (CEFIA) on 22 April 2026. The Forum was held back-to-back with the 19th ASEAN+3 New and Renewable Energy (NRE) and Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C), and hosted by the Philippines Department of Energy (DOE). The Forum gathered over 200 representatives, including delegates from ASEAN Member States (AMS), private companies, academia, international organisations, METI, and ACE.
The CEFIA Forum aimed to facilitate collaboration between the public and private sectors to accelerate the deployment of cleaner energy and low carbon technologies in the ASEAN region. The 9th CEFIA Forum this year aligns with the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairship and supports the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026-2030 Programme Area on Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) and Renewable Energy (RE). The 9th CEFIA Forum featured presentations and discussions across three main sessions, including Overview of CEFIA’s Flagship Projects, Exploring Potential CEFIA New Flagships and Emerging Technologies, and Panel Discussion with AMS representatives.
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Photo 2. Toshiyuki Ochi, Parliamentary Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (top left), Dato' Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director at ACE (top right), and Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella, JD, GSC, Philippine Department of Energy (bottom), delivering opening Remarks at the 9th CEFIA Forum.
The Forum began with opening remarks from Toshiyuki Ochi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry at METI, Dato' Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director at ACE, and Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella, JD, GSC, Philippine Senior Official on Energy (SOE) Leader from the Philippine Department of Energy. The opening speakers expressed their appreciation and gratitude to all participants, reinforcing the importance of collaboration in advancing cleaner energy and low-carbon technologies across ASEAN under the Philippines' ASEAN Chairmanship. They emphasised the critical role of CEFIA in continuing collaboration to promote energy transitions and accelerate the deployment of decarbonisation technologies in the ASEAN region.
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Photo 3. Hiroyuki Mitsui, METI (left) and Naing Naing Linn, ACE (right), as speakers for the Opening Session.
To set the scene, Hiroyuki Mitsui, Deputy Director of the Global Environmental Affairs Office at METI, and Naing Naing Linn, Manager of the EE&C Department at ACE, provided policy updates from both Japan and ASEAN. They highlighted the direction of CEFIA moving forward to align with the needs of ASEAN countries and support regional energy cooperation initiatives.
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Photo 4. Mardika Firlina, ACE (left) and Yojiro Sumitomo, METI (right), as moderators for Session I and Session II.
The Forum continued with Session I, which focused on sharing the progress, activities, and key achievements of the CEFIA flagship projects, moderated by Mardika Firlina, Technical Officer at the EE&C Department, ACE. This session showcased the latest decarbonisation technologies being promoted in the ASEAN region, featuring the Philippines' successful initiatives as best practices for other ASEAN Member States. The session featured presentations on Zero Energy Building (ZEB) from Katsuhiko Yamamoto of JASE-W and Mario Suelto from the Philippine Green Building Council. Fumiko Yamada, Associate Director of Japan Carbon Frontier Organisation (JCOAL), and Ina Q. Guillermo, President of the Biomass Renewable Energy Alliance (BREA), presented on Biomass Power Generation.
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Photo 5. Katsuhiko Yamamoto, JASE-W (top left), Mario Suelto, PGBC (top right), Fumiko Yamada, JCOAL (bottom left), and Ina Q. Guillermo, BREA (bottom right), as speakers for Session I.
Kengo Shinomiya, General Manager of International Business Division at KRAFTIA Corporation, discussed Microgrid initiatives. The Hydrogen and Ammonia segment was presented by Yuichi Saotome, General Manager of JH2A, and Shunichiro Ueno, Deputy Secretary-General of the Clean Fuel Ammonia Association (CFAA). Maria Teresita Lacerna, Legal Advisor of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), highlighted finance opportunities for CEFIA projects.
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Photo 6. Kengo Shinomiya, KRAFTIA (top left), Yuichi Saotome, JH2A (top right), Shuniciro Ueno, CFAA (bottom left), and Maria Lacerna, ADFIAP (bottom right), as speakers for Session I.
Session II focused on exploring potential new CEFIA flagship projects and emerging technologies. This session introduced proposed activities from candidate CEFIA Flagship Projects to explore future collaborations for scaling the deployment of low-carbon solutions across the ASEAN region.
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Photo 7. Reo Hayashi, CRF (top left), Noriyoshi Fukuoka, METI (top right), Hitoshi Hayashi, JAMA (bottom left), and Jummy Sinaga, APROBI (bottom right), as speakers for Session II.
Presenters included Reo Hayashi, Leader of the Planning and International Collaboration Group at the Carbon Recycling Fund, who presented on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). Noriyoshi Fukuoka, Director of the Offshore Wind Projects Promotion Office at the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, METI, discussed Offshore Wind Power opportunities. Hitoshi Hayashi from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association presented on Sustainable Fuel Activities in Japan, while Jummy Bismar Martua Sinaga, Vice Chair for Research and Technical at the Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI), provided updates on the Biofuels Industry in Indonesia.
The final session was led by Norihiro Kimura, Senior Negotiator for Climate Change at the Global Environmental Affairs Office, METI, featuring a panel discussion with representatives from all 6 ASEAN Member States. This session explored how ASEAN countries navigate global energy disruptions by leveraging Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency as national security pillars, while identifying how CEFIA Flagship Projects can bridge technical and investment gaps to accelerate regional resilience.
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Photo 8. Representatives from Indonesia (top left), Lao PDR (top right), Myanmar (middle left), Malaysia (middle right), Thailand (bottom left), and Timor Leste (bottom right), as speakers for Session III.
Representatives were invited to evaluate how global energy price fluctuations affect national stability and decarbonisation plans, to highlight prioritised renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies or policies, and to identify specific technical expertise or investment gaps that CEFIA should target.
Photo 9. Norihiro Kimura, METI, as moderator for Session III and deliver closing remarks.
The Forum concluded with closing remarks from Norihiro Kimura from METI, who expressed gratitude to all participants for their active engagement and reaffirmed the commitment to strengthening public-private collaboration for ASEAN's energy transition.
About CEFIA:
CEFIA was proposed by Japan and endorsed by ASEAN+3 Ministers on Energy at the 16th ASEAN+3 Meeting of Energy Ministers in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2019. CEFIA aims to serve as a platform to facilitate collaboration between public and private sectors in the deployment of cleaner energy and low carbon technologies in ASEAN, funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, with support from the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) as a Secretariat. CEFIA oversees several flagship projects, implemented by private companies and organisations, to demonstrate best practices in technology deployment through collaborative efforts, policy development, and the mobilisation of public and private funding. More information is available at https://www.cefia-dp.go.jp/
Materials for the 9th CEFIA Forum can be accessed at The 9th CEFIA Forum｜CEFIA Digital Platform
