IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v30y2022i1p96-109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Financing sustainable development? The role of foreign aid in Southeast Asia's energy transition

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Bertheau
  • Robert Lindner

Abstract

The rapid deployment of modern renewable energy generation capacity in the fast‐growing Southeast Asian region will be crucial to ensure that the region can meet its increasing future energy demand in a sustainable way. However, many countries will need assistance through international cooperation and foreign aid to develop their sustainable energy sources. The three East Asian donor states Japan, South Korea and China are particularly crucial because they account for a large share of aid disbursement to the region and serve as development role models for many recipient countries. All three states are signatories of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and thus committed to the global goals of climate protection and sustainable energy development. This paper is based on an analysis of official aid databases and second‐party data to explore the details of the energy‐related aid contributions of the three key donor states to Southeast Asia during the last 15 years. The findings indicate that all three states contradicted their own international pledges by financing fossil‐fuel power generation projects in many countries in the region. Although recent policy changes in Japan and South Korea are cause for optimism, the opacity of China's energy‐related aid flows combined with its renewed support for domestic coal power generation are worrying signs for the future of energy development in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Bertheau & Robert Lindner, 2022. "Financing sustainable development? The role of foreign aid in Southeast Asia's energy transition," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 96-109, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:30:y:2022:i:1:p:96-109
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2231
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2231
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2231?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jessica C. Liao, 2021. "The Club‐based Climate Regime and OECD Negotiations on Restricting Coal‐fired Power Export Finance," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(1), pages 40-50, February.
    2. Yoon‐Hee Ha & John Byrne, 2019. "The rise and fall of green growth: Korea's energy sector experiment and its lessons for sustainable energy policy," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(4), July.
    3. Liu, Wenfeng & Zhang, Xingping & Feng, Sida, 2019. "Does renewable energy policy work? Evidence from a panel data analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 635-642.
    4. Panagiotis Fotis & Michael Polemis, 2018. "Sustainable development, environmental policy and renewable energy use: A dynamic panel data approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 726-740, November.
    5. Almeshqab, Fatema & Ustun, Taha Selim, 2019. "Lessons learned from rural electrification initiatives in developing countries: Insights for technical, social, financial and public policy aspects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 35-53.
    6. Lee, Zhi Hua & Sethupathi, Sumathi & Lee, Keat Teong & Bhatia, Subhash & Mohamed, Abdul Rahman, 2013. "An overview on global warming in Southeast Asia: CO2 emission status, efforts done, and barriers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 71-81.
    7. Jeffrey D. Sachs & Guido Schmidt-Traub & Mariana Mazzucato & Dirk Messner & Nebojsa Nakicenovic & Johan Rockström, 2019. "Six Transformations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(9), pages 805-814, September.
    8. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    9. John Beirne & Nuobu Renzhi & Ulrich Volz, 2021. "Bracing for the Typhoon: Climate change and sovereign risk in Southeast Asia," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 537-551, May.
    10. Sangjung Ha & Thomas Hale & Peter Ogden, 2016. "Climate Finance in and between Developing Countries: An Emerging Opportunity to Build On," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 7(1), pages 102-108, February.
    11. Gallagher, Kevin P. & Kamal, Rohini & Jin, Junda & Chen, Yanning & Ma, Xinyue, 2018. "Energizing development finance? The benefits and risks of China's development finance in the global energy sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 313-321.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ozili, Peterson K, 2023. "Financial stability and sustainable development," MPRA Paper 118793, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Youngwan Kim & Sang-Hwan Lee & Young Jun Cho, 2023. "Donor motivation in the era of the COVID-19 crisis: Focusing on South Korean health diplomacy and response aid to COVID-19," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 26(1), pages 71-86, March.
    3. Thomas Hickmann & Frank Biermann & Matteo Spinazzola & Charlotte Ballard & Maya Bogers & Oana Forestier & Agni Kalfagianni & Rakhyun E. Kim & Francesco S. Montesano & Tom Peek & Carole‐Anne Sénit & Me, 2023. "Success factors of global goal‐setting for sustainable development: Learning from the Millennium Development Goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1214-1225, June.
    4. Su, Xiang & Tan, Junlan, 2023. "Regional energy transition path and the role of government support and resource endowment in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    5. Bai, Wuliyasu & Zhang, Long & Lu, Shengfang & Ren, Jingzheng & Zhou, Zhiqiao, 2023. "Sustainable energy transition in Southeast Asia: Energy status analysis, comprehensive evaluation and influential factor identification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jan Anton van Zanten & Rob van Tulder, 2020. "Beyond COVID-19: Applying “SDG logics” for resilient transformations," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 451-464, December.
    2. Godwell Nhamo & Chipo Mukonza, 2020. "Opportunities for women in the green economy and environmental sectors," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 823-832, July.
    3. Virág, Doris & Wiedenhofer, Dominik & Baumgart, André & Matej, Sarah & Krausmann, Fridolin & Min, Jihoon & Rao, Narasimha D. & Haberl, Helmut, 2022. "How much infrastructure is required to support decent mobility for all? An exploratory assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    4. Kristin Linnerud & Erling Holden & Morten Simonsen, 2021. "Closing the sustainable development gap: A global study of goal interactions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(4), pages 738-753, July.
    5. Feng Mao & Joshua D. Miller & Sera L. Young & Stefan Krause & David M. Hannah, 2022. "Inequality of household water security follows a Development Kuznets Curve," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Andrew R. Tilman & Robert G. Haight, 2023. "Public policy for management of forest pests within an ownership mosaic," Papers 2312.05403, arXiv.org.
    7. Andrianady, Josué R., 2023. "Assessing the Economic Impact of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through DSGE Modeling," MPRA Paper 117028, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. David Horan, 2021. "The SDGs as an Integrative Framework to Assess Coherence of Transnational Multistakeholder Partnerships for SIDS," Working Papers 202110, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    9. Solène Guenat & Phil Purnell & Zoe G. Davies & Maximilian Nawrath & Lindsay C. Stringer & Giridhara Rathnaiah Babu & Muniyandi Balasubramanian & Erica E. F. Ballantyne & Bhuvana Kolar Bylappa & Bei Ch, 2022. "Meeting sustainable development goals via robotics and autonomous systems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Chirambo, Dumisani, 2018. "Towards the achievement of SDG 7 in sub-Saharan Africa: Creating synergies between Power Africa, Sustainable Energy for All and climate finance in-order to achieve universal energy access before 2030," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 600-608.
    11. Renato Camodeca & Alex Almici, 2021. "Digital Transformation and Convergence toward the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainability Development Goals: Evidence from Italian Listed Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-18, October.
    12. David Horan, 2020. "National Baselines for Integrated Implementation of an Environmental Sustainable Development Goal Assessed in a New Integrated SDG Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Basil Bornemann & Marius Christen, 2021. "A New Generation of Sustainability Governance: Potentials for 2030 Agenda Implementation in Swiss Cantons," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 187-199.
    14. Ivan Montiel & Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Junghoon Park & Raquel Antolín-López & Bryan W. Husted, 2021. "Implementing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(5), pages 999-1030, July.
    15. Clement, Jessica & Ruysschaert, Benoit & Crutzen, Nathalie, 2023. "Smart city strategies – A driver for the localization of the sustainable development goals?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    16. Guler, Dogus & Yomralioglu, Tahsin, 2021. "A reformative framework for processes from building permit issuing to property ownership in Turkey," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    17. Alexander Brand & Mark Furness & Niels Keijzer, 2021. "Promoting Policy Coherence within the 2030 Agenda Framework: Externalities, Trade-Offs and Politics," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 108-118.
    18. David Horan, 2022. "Towards a Portfolio Approach: Partnerships for Sustainable Transformations," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 13(1), pages 160-170, February.
    19. Leopoldo Gutierrez & Ivan Montiel & Jordi A. Surroca & Josep A. Tribo, 2022. "Rainbow Wash or Rainbow Revolution? Dynamic Stakeholder Engagement for SDG-Driven Responsible Innovation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(4), pages 1113-1136, November.
    20. Sara Moggi & Paul Pierce & Nicole Bernardi, 2022. "From sustainability to thrivability: A novel framework for entrepreneurial ecosystems," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 829-853, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:30:y:2022:i:1:p:96-109. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.