North Asia Desperately Needs a Green Energy Alliance
Going it alone is too slow and expensive. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan can benefit from a trade pact that would encourage them to work together.
It’s lonely going it alone.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
An inability among some of Asia’s largest economies to generate sufficient green electricity is catching global attention and threatens their industrial development. Strict local procurement rules and protectionist policies are among the chief culprits, but those challenges could be ameliorated if Japan, South Korea and Taiwan team up and work together to develop renewable energy.
Japan is falling short on green power and needs to work quickly to fix the problem, according to Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest corporate buyer of clean electricity. “It's not a technology problem, it's a policy and market problem,” Ken Haig, head of energy and environmental policy for the Asia-Pacific region for Amazon Web Services, said in March. Taiwan is set to miss its 2025 targets while low renewable-energy ambitions mean South Korea continues to be dependent on fossil fuels and nuclear power.