Photo 1. Group Photo of Workshop Participants
The workshop begins with opening remarks by Nadhilah Shani, Head of Power Generation and Interconnection (PIN) Department, who highlighted the importance of finding suitable financing approaches to support the continued development of the ASEAN Power Grid (APG). Then, Yussuf Uwamahoro, Lead Energy Specialist from The World Bank, also added that the international climate finance instruments could be powerful if used strategically and carefully structuredin closing financing gaps in transmission.
The opening was followed by a scene-setting session from Ignatius Primadi Limin, Senior Officer of PIN Department, introduced the background and objectives of the study. He outlined the key challenges transmission projects in meeting the eligibility criteria of international climate finance, particularly in attributing and crediting emission reductions to grid infrastructure. These challenges framed the central questionof the workshop on how international climate finance could be structured to complementconventional financing for regional transmission projects.
William Derbyshire from Economic Consulting Associates (ECA) then presented the study’s initial findings. His presentation focusedon analysing four potential climate finance options for APG transmission projects: green bonds, climate funds, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), and carbon credits.
These instruments could provide opportunities for lower-cost financing or additionalrevenue streams; each comes with its own requirements and challenges. For example, climate funds generally can only finance a small part of project cost, while green bonds may require conventional credit rating to access financing. Moreover, cross-border RECs and carbon credits still face methodological and regulatory challenges, particularly in establishing how the benefits of an interconnector should be measured and attributed.
Photo 2. Four potential climate finance sources identified for APG.
A key part of the presentation focused on how transmission projects can demonstrate their climate impact. Unlike renewable energy generation projects, transmission infrastructure does not directly reduce emissions. Instead, interconnectors can enable renewable electricity to reach other systems, reduce curtailment, and displace more carbon-intensive generation. This makes demonstrating additionality and emissions reductions an important part of accessing climate finance.
The study also presented three APG case studies to explore these issues in more detail: Indonesia (Sumatra)–Malaysia (Peninsular), Lao PDR–Viet Nam, and the Philippines (Luzon)–Malaysia (Sabah). The case studies were used as illustrations to examine available data, emissions impacts, interconnector utilisation, and the potential applicability of different climate financing options.
The presentation highlighted several areas where further work is needed, including improving the availability of consistent emissions-factor data, strengthening approaches to assess the additionality of interconnectors, developing frameworks for cross-border RECs, and exploring new methodologies for carbon financing. The study also identified potential roles for ASEAN institutions in developing common methodologies, maintaining regional data, supporting regular interconnector modelling, and providing capacity building.
The workshop then opened the floor for discussion with participants where the raised questions on eligibility under different climate finance frameworks and taxonomies, the appropriate level of emission factor data, the benefits of linking new lines directly to low-carbon generation, and the applicability of the four instruments. Stakeholders were also invited to provide feedback on the climate financing options, case studies, and proposed pathways presented during the workshop.
The workshop provided a valuable space for ASEAN stakeholders to exchange views on the opportunities and practical challenges of accessing climate finance for transmission projects. The inputs gathered will help further refine the study and shape financing pathways that can support more climate-aligned and bankable APG investments, strengthening ASEAN’s efforts to expand regional power connectivity and facilitate greater integration of renewable energy.
