2 July 2026 – The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), with support from the World Bank, convened the First Virtual Consultation Forum for the Regional Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) Study under the Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach for Accelerating Sustainable Energy Transition (MPA ASET) Project.
Photo 1. Participants of the First Virtual Consultation Forum for the Regional Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment Study.
The forum brought together representatives from ASEAN Member States, development partners, financial institutions, technical experts, and civil society organisations to discuss preliminary environmental and social issues related to ASEAN’s sustainable energy transition. The consultation was facilitated by the CIERA Group, in association with PT Hatfield Indonesia, DDA International Consulting, and Novirianti & Partners.
The event was started through an opening message by Dato’ Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE. In his remarks, ACE highlighted that the Regional SESA Study marks an important milestone in systematically integrating environmental and social considerations into regional energy planning. ACE emphasised that the consultation aimed to validate the preliminary environmental and social issues identified under the study, particularly in relation to APG development, while gathering stakeholder insights to refine the assessment of risks, opportunities, and recommendations. The outcomes of the first consultation will inform the next stage of the SESA process and will be further discussed during the second consultation forum planned for September 2026.
Photo 2. Dato’ Ir. Ts. Razib Dawood, Executive Director of ACE (left) and Ross Butler, Lead Social Development Specialist for the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Region (right), delivering opening remarks.
Ross Butler, Lead Social Development Specialist for the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Region, also delivered opening remarks on behalf of the World Bank who provide support for the Regional SESA Study. He underlined that the SESA is an analytical exercise rather than a compliance process, intended to help decision-makers better understand key risks, trade-offs, and opportunities. He encouraged participants to provide candid and practical advice, noting that early stakeholder engagement is essential to shaping the direction and scope of the study.
The first presentation was delivered by Tung Phuong, Senior Officer of ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) from ACE, as the coordinator for the MPA ASET Project, providing an overview of the Project programme and activities. The presentation explained that the project supports ASEAN’s efforts to accelerate renewable energy scale-up and regional power trade through three key components: renewable energy policy support and climate financing, regional power trade, and knowledge sharing and institutional development.
The presentation also introduced the seven programme areas under the project, including the revitalisation of the ASEAN Energy Database System, strategies for financing renewable energy investment, the ASEAN Renewable Energy Certificate Framework, climate financing for power transmission development, ASEAN Power Grid Project Preparation Facilities, the ASEAN Energy-Gender Nexus Agenda, and the establishment of the Project Management Unit and related support for the ASEAN Power Grid Secretariat.
Photo 3. Tung Phuong, Senior Officer of APAEC, presenting the overview of the MPA ASET Project and its programme areas.
The CIERA Group then presented the scope and approach of the Regional SESA Study. The team explained that, unlike a project-level Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), the SESA operates at a higher strategic level. It assesses potential environmental and social issues associated with policies, plans, programmes, and regional-level energy planning rather than individual infrastructure projects.
The study will identify key environmental and socioeconomic risks, opportunities, and potential impacts associated with ACE’s technical assistance programmes. It will also review legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks across ASEAN Member States, assess how country systems address environmental and social risks, and provide recommendations to strengthen governance, institutional capacity, and programme implementation.
Photo 4. Barry Dalal Clayton, Team Leader for the Regional SESA Study from CIERA Group presenting the study approach and stakeholder engagement process.
The presentation highlighted that the ASEAN Power Grid is a key focus of the risk identification process due to the potential significance of transmission infrastructure and interconnection projects. Environmental issues discussed included potential impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, protected areas, land, water, air quality, climate resilience, drainage patterns, and cumulative impacts. The team also noted that transmission lines can create linear and fragmented impacts across landscapes, including risks to habitats, wildlife movement, birds, bats, and protected areas.
Social issues discussed included land access, livelihoods, employment, labour rights, community health and safety, physical and economic displacement, customary land rights, Indigenous Peoples, vulnerable groups, gender, migration, cultural heritage, and cumulative social pressures arising from large-scale infrastructure development. The team emphasised that these risks need to be considered early in regional planning to support more sustainable and inclusive energy infrastructure development.
The stakeholder engagement process was also presented as a key component of the SESA. The first consultation forum was designed to validate preliminary environmental and social issues and gather inputs from stakeholders. A second consultation forum is planned for September 2026 to receive feedback on the SESA findings and recommendations. In addition, stakeholders were invited to provide further input through the online survey circulated by ACE.
Photo 5. Consultation session with representatives from development partners, financial institutions, and civil society organisations.
During the discussion session, participants raised several important issues to strengthen the study. Representatives from financial institutions highlighted the need to consider associated facilities, such as access roads, borrow pits, laydown areas, substations, and other supporting infrastructure that may not always be financed or managed under the same standards as the main transmission infrastructure. Participants also raised issues related to Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) leakage from substations, transboundary impacts, unexploded ordnance, child labour, cultural heritage, and grievance redress mechanisms.
Civil society representatives also emphasised the importance of recognising Indigenous Peoples as a distinct stakeholder category, rather than only as a sub-category under vulnerability. They highlighted the relevance of customary land rights, Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and meaningful consultation in the context of energy infrastructure planning, particularly where transmission corridors may overlap with Indigenous territories or areas of customary land use.
Other participants underlined the need for transparency, communication strategies tailored to country contexts, grievance mechanisms, co-creation with local communities, and stronger attention to vulnerable groups and women. The discussion also highlighted the importance of data and policy harmonisation, collaboration with civil society organisations, and partnerships with community-led initiatives to ensure that environmental and social considerations are integrated into future energy planning.
In response, the CIERA Group noted that the Regional SESA Study will remain a high-level analytical document and will not establish detailed project-level standards for all ASEAN Member States. However, the team confirmed that the issues raised would be considered in the development of the study’s risk assessment, gap analysis, and recommendations. The study will also identify areas where ACE may support stronger integration of environmental and social considerations into planning, coordination, and future engagement with ASEAN Member States.
As a way forward, ACE encouraged participants to submit additional comments through the feedback survey, which will remain open until 17 July 2026. Inputs from the first consultation will be used to refine the preliminary environmental and social risks and to inform the development of recommendations for the Regional SESA Study.
The second consultation forum is planned for September 2026, where stakeholders will be invited to review and provide feedback on the study’s findings and recommendations. Through this process, ACE, the World Bank, and the CIERA Group aim to support a more sustainable, inclusive, and socially responsible approach to ASEAN’s regional energy transition.
Join the consultation process by providing feedback through the survey shared by ACE below:
