SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY WEEK 2021: THINKTANK ROUNDTABLE HOSTED BY ASEF

SIEW 2021 Thinktank Roundtable hosted by ASEF

 How do we Accelerate the Transition to a Green Economy?

Thursday, 28 October 2021, 04:00 PM – 06:00 PM (GMT+8)

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unparalleled global health crisis that has caused grave disruption to the global economy, trade and travel. It is a crisis that has resulted in unprecedented job losses and heavily impacted the lives of people and economies across the globe. Crisis situations, however, also offer unprecedented opportunities. The time is right for us to re-set and re-structure our economies in the post-pandemic era to accelerate the transition to a Green Economy.

In keeping with the theme of the SIEW, the session will pay particular emphasis on the energy sector, focusing on job creation and incentives to assist/persuade developing countries and economies are strongly dependent on fossil fuels to accelerate their transitions to a green economy. The roundtable will also look at training and advances in technologies that could help aspiring countries leapfrog some of the stages of the transition process. Financing would be another key factor, in terms of what more affluent countries can do together with relevant international and private sector financial institutions to facilitate the global move towards a cleaner energy and green economy.

The time is now for us to work together – both public and private sector – to come up with innovative yet pragmatic solutions to discuss the following:

• How can governments and companies work together to identify what jobs are likely to be needed in the Green Economy, for SMEs and MSMEs?
• How then do we best equip our citizens/population with the relevant knowledge and skillsets?
• How can more affluent countries, international organisations and big business contribute to accelerate the transition of developing countries to the green economy?

Programme Details

Opening Speech

Ambassador MORIKAWA Toru (Japan), joined the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) as its 8th Executive Director in August 2020. ASEF’s leadership alternates between Asia and Europe every four years. Amb Morikawa is a seasoned career diplomat bringing decades of experience and expertise to ASEF. His previous postings include serving as Minister, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Iran; and Minister-Counsellor, Embassy of Japan in France where he was in charge of various cultural exchange initiatives. He has also worked in the areas of Media and Regional Economic Cooperation and has experience in cultivating and enhancing partnerships for projects with different organisations including the private sector. Ambassador Morikawa received his Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the University of Tokyo. He is fluent in Japanese, French, and English. He is married with two children.

Speakers

H.E. Jean-Paul SENNINGER is the Luxembourg Ambassador in Bangkok. Amb Senninger joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999 as Premier Conseiller de Gouvernement. He was Luxembourg Ambassador to Spain (2004-2008) and to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico (2008-2012). From 2012-December 2013, he was the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Amb Senninger also worked as attaché in the Office of the Mayor of Luxembourg City and as Senior Officer, and Head of Unit at the European Investment Bank. Mr Senninger holds a BA in Political Science and a BA in Literature from the Friedrich Wilhelms Universität in Freiburg and a Master in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges.

Mdm Khotamy CHANTHAMALINH is the Deputy Director General in the Department of Planning and Cooperation (DPC), Ministry of Energy and Mines, Lao People’s Democratic Republic.  She is also the ASEAN Alternate Senior Official on Energy (SOE) Leader. Mdm Khotamy has been working closely with Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore on the Lao PDR, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) and will share perspectives on the potential jobss opportunities and how developing countries like Laos can be part of the shift to renewable energy.

Dr Lei Lei SONG is currently Director of Economic Analysis and Operational Support, Asian Development Bank (ADB). He leads a team of more than 20 economists supporting ADB operations, and conducting research on development issues in Asia and the Pacific and analytical work on project economic analysis and impact evaluation. He joined ADB in 2007 as an economist in the former Office of Regional Economic Integration. He moved to the Office of the President as a Senior Advisor to ADB President in May 2014. From April 2018 to July 2021, he was Regional Economic Advisor for South Asia based in New Delhi, covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Ms Jen TAN Sembcorp Industries’ Head of Integrated Solutions, Singapore and Southeast Asia Market, Renewables & Environment Business. She is responsible for growing the portfolio of offerings under Sembcorp’s suite of sustainable solutions in Singapore and Southeast Asia.  These include integrating energy, water, waste and digital solutions that help customers meet their environmental sustainability targets. Prior to her current role, she was responsible for business development, project development and execution as well as operations and maintenance of solar projects in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Under her leadership, Jen has successfully grown the business to become one of the largest players in Singapore with over 11 years of experience in the solar industry. Before joining Sembcorp, she was Vice President of APAC Sales and Energy Solutions in REC Solar Pte Ltd responsible for driving business growth in the region.

Moderator

Ambassador Léon FABER, the Deputy Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), is a seasoned career diplomat with nearly 30 years of experience. His previous postings include being Head of Mission, European Union Delegation to the Lao PDR; Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Luxembourg; Chargé d’affaires of Luxembourg, Embassy in Hanoi. He has worked in the areas of Human Rights, Health and Humanitarian Affairs and he has more than 20 years of experience in Development Cooperation.

Target audience

Diplomats, policymakers, public officers, academics, commentators, industry leaders and professionals engaged in the energy sector.

Registration available here.