Highlights
- Managing cooling demand is an important component of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) energy transition, particularly in advancing energy efficiency and supporting power-system planning. Rapid growth in air conditioner ownership is reshaping electricity consumption patterns and increasing peak demand. Improving cooling efficiency is therefore essential to reduce generation and peak-capacity requirements, lower overall system cost and consumer electricity cost, strengthen grid reliability, and limit emissions growth.
- Regional harmonisation of minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) could deliver substantial electricity savings and emission reductions across ASEAN. Strengthened MEPS for new room air conditioners (RACs) could deliver electricity savings of around 149 TWh and avoid approximately 100 million tonnes of CO, emissions, annually in 2040.
- High-efficiency RAC technologies are already available in regional markets. The growing presence of inverter-based, high-performance models, and lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants provides a proven supply-side foundation. While higher efficiency is associated with higher upfront prices, life-cycle cost savings are expected to offset the price premium.
- Green public procurement (GPP) can accelerate market transformation for energy-efficient cooling. By integrating efficiency criteria into public procurement, governments can reinforce regulatory signals and stimulate demand for high-performance, sustainable cooling technologies, leveraging public spending that represents an estimated 5-8% of GDP in ASEAN.
- Impact depends on ambitious performance thresholds and coordinated implementation at national and regional levels. Within each ASEAN Member State, effective GPP requires alignment across procurement, energy, and standards authorities, supported by life-cycle costing approaches and digital procurement integration. Across the region, harmonised GPP technical guidelines could strengthen market integration in ASEAN.