Asia sits at the heart of the global energy transition. Rapid economic growth, increasing energy demand and continued reliance on fossil fuels make the region’s decisions critical for the world’s climate trajectory. Securing the resources for a managed, just energy transition today is the only way to avert a future of stranded assets and economic instability that would resonate far beyond Asia’s borders. The time for coordinated action is now.

Our latest discussions through the Eurasian Energy Convening reveal a complex reality: the transition isn’t just about deploying technology, but navigating a total economic and geopolitical rewrite. In this blog, we are unpacking some key takeaways from our recent research and engagements across Asia, identifying high-stakes gaps and the boldest opportunities to ensure Asia’s leap to clean energy is both rapid and just. Through this work, Climate Strategies continues to act as a bridge between research and policy, and a neutral convener of stakeholders across regions, translating evidence into actionable, context-specific solutions.

A Region Driving Global Energy Demand

Energy demand across Asia continues to grow rapidly, particularly in large economies such as China, India, and the ASEAN region. While renewable energy capacity has expanded dramatically over the past decade, fossil fuels still dominate many national energy systems.

• The Solar Paradox: Solar deployment illustrates both the scale and the unevenness of the transition. China has emerged as the global leader, installing over one terawatt of solar PV capacity. Yet, across the rest of the continent, coal, oil, and gas remain the lifeblood of electricity grids and industrial production.
• The Policy Balancing Act: For governments, the challenge goes far beyond replacing fossil fuels with renewables. Every energy policy must balance industrial competitiveness and energy security while honouring climate commitments.

Fossil Fuel Trade is Being Reshaped by Geopolitics

“Τhe current energy crisis in Asia, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East, illustrates that reliance on fossil fuels, including discounted Russian supplies, ultimately erodes energy security. True resilience in a fragmented world lies not in cheap hydrocarbons, but in accelerating transition to domestic renewable energy and in supporting cleantech innovation.” – Tatiana Lanshina, Independent Energy Expert

Global energy markets are currently facing a geopolitical “stress test.” Recent tensions in the Middle East have exposed the fragility of fossil fuel supply chains, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, where 90% of transit LNG is destined for Asian economies like Japan and Korea. At the same time, since the introduction of European sanctions on Russia, Russian fossil fuels exports have shifted toward Asia. Research presented at the Aleksanteri Conference by our Member, Tatiana Lanshina (Independent Energy Expert) and our recent publication, highlighted how China was already a major buyer of Russian oil before 2022. While China and India currently absorb this supply, Russia remains vulnerable to potential policy shifts, secondary sanctions, and infrastructure bottlenecks.

These developments illustrate how Asian economies are still tethered to global fossil fuel markets, where instability in one region can ripple across entire energy systems. Transitioning and energy sources diversification is no longer just a climate goal, but a national security imperative for many Asian countries.

Critical Minerals and the New Energy Supply Chains

The clean energy transition is also transforming global supply chains. Renewable technologies, electric vehicles and battery storage require massive volumes of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper – resources that are often as geographically concentrated as oil and gas.

• Supply security challenge: As demand skyrockets, so is geopolitical competition. Securing these minerals is now a top economic priority for Asian countries.
• Circular Solutions: A key answer lies in Circular Supply Chains. By prioritizing the recycling and recovery of minerals from end-of-life products, new environmentally and socially damaging extraction can be strongly reduced.
• The Infrastructure Gap: Despite the potential, recycling infrastructure across much of Asia remains very limited. Expanding these capabilities is essential to ensure that the energy transition does not reproduce the extractive patterns associated with fossil fuel systems.

From Co-Innovation to a Just Transition

 “Concrete thinking about what justice means on energy transition pathways is still in its infancy. We therefore need a better understanding about what it means to have truly just energy transitions, how to anchor elements of justice better in policies and how to implement those policies and actions effectively so that people can benefit from a fairer, more decentralized, low-carbon energy system”. – Stefan Bößner, Stockholm Environment Institute Asia

A truly just transition in Asia must be as social as it is technological. While many countries currently rely on imported renewables, Climate Strategies’ research emphasises the need to move toward a co-innovation model. In such a pattern, technologies are developed collaboratively and adapted to local conditions, allowing countries to build domestic expertise and industrial capacity. In doing so, it can ensure that the economic benefits of the energy transition are more widely distributed.

This shift from “buying” to “building” is a critical piece of the puzzle, but it must be paired with policies that support the workers and communities currently tied to fossil fuel industries.  Current policy frameworks often lack key elements of a just transition such as protections for workers affected by fossil fuel phase-outs, stronger recognition of land rights and Indigenous communities. Addressing these social dimensions is essential for building public trust and maintaining political momentum for ambitious climate policies.

Financing the Transition

One of the most significant barriers to energy transitions across the region remains finance.

Transforming energy systems requires substantial investment in renewable generation, grid infrastructure, storage technologies, and new industrial systems. For many countries, limited access to affordable capital and high debt burdens make these investments difficult.

International climate finance initiatives have attempted to address these challenges, but many countries still face gaps between available funding and the scale of investment required. Aligning financial mechanisms with national development priorities will be essential to accelerating progress, particularly in light of rising energy market volatility.

The Importance of Regional Cooperation

Despite the rapid pace of energy transformation in Asia, knowledge exchange between countries remains limited.

Innovative policies, financing approaches, and technological solutions are often developed within national contexts but not widely shared. Strengthening dialogue between researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society will therefore be crucial for translating knowledge into practical action.

Climate Strategies focuses on facilitating these kinds of exchanges, bringing together diverse stakeholders to explore how research can inform policy and support equitable energy transitions.

This work is fundamentally linked to our new organisational strategy, Pathway to Impact 2026–2029, built on the premise that the most effective climate action is grounded in the lived realities of diverse regions. Central pillars of the strategy include:

• Prosperity Post Fossil Fuels: We help fossil-fuel-dependent economies face the unavoidable need for transformation, turning potential economic risk into long-term, equitable prosperity through a managed Just Transition.
• Global-Majority Powered Change: We believe climate action is most effective when grounded in the lived realities of diverse regions.

Our new strategy is a commitment to collaborative innovation. We invite partners across Asia to join us in using this framework to turn research into the decisive, inclusive action that the Asian region requires.

Looking Ahead

“The Eurasian Energy Convening underscored that energy transitions across Asia must move beyond conventional technology transfer and finance-driven approaches. A key need is to adopt a co-innovation paradigm grounded in local contexts and capacities. The opportunity lies in better aligning policy frameworks, market mechanisms, and local innovation ecosystems to enable scalable solutions. At the same time, persistent knowledge gaps remain regarding adoption capacity, social acceptance, and effective implementation. Addressing these gaps is essential to make technology collaboration truly transformational.” – Dr. Nandakumar Janardhanan, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Asia’s energy transition will be shaped by a complex combination of technological innovation, geopolitical change, and economic restructuring. While the challenges are significant, the region also holds enormous potential to drive global decarbonisation.

Realising this potential will require stronger regional cooperation, deeper investment in co-innovation systems, and policies that ensure transitions are socially inclusive as well as environmentally effective.

Climate Strategies continues to work with partners across Asia to connect research, policy, and practice in support of these goals. As the region navigates the transition away from fossil fuels, collaboration across institutions, countries, and sectors will be essential for building resilient and prosperous low-carbon energy systems.

We are actively seeking strategic partners and funders to expand this work across Asia as part of our 2026–2029 strategy. We invite collaboration through joint research initiatives, high-level policy dialogues, and collaborative regional programs. If you are looking to support high-impact, policy-relevant work in Asia’s critical energy landscape, please connect with us to explore how we can drive this transition forward together. For more information email our Projects Officer Theofania – theofania.troupi@climatestrategies.org.