Photo 1. Group photo of the ASEAN Cooling Project panel session (from left to right: Siriporn Parvikam, ASEAN Cooling Project; Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, EE&C Department, ACE; Jericho Jan Andres, ASEAN Cooling Project; Charlotte Turk, GGGI; Dir. Patrick Aquino, DOE-EUMB; Martin Brown-Santirso, HEAT; Dr. Pongpan Vorasayan, Ministry of Energy, Thailand and Chair of EE&C-SSN Focal Points; Alexander Ablaza, APEIA; Rajesh Balasubramanian, IFC; and Naing Naing Linn, EE&C Department, ACE)
Manila, 5 October 2026 —The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in cooperation with the ASEAN Energy Efficiency and Conservation Sub-Sector Network (EE&C-SSN), successfully organised the Panel Session on Cooling ASEAN’s Growth: Investing in a More Efficient, Secure, and Resilient Energy Future, under Track 4: Energy Security and Resilience as part of the 26th ASEAN Energy Business Forum (AEBF-26).
Opening the session, Dr Pongpan Vorasayan, Director of Division of Energy Regulation and Conservation, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE), Ministry of Energy, Thailand and Chair of EE&C-SSN, emphasised that advancing sustainable cooling in ASEAN requires harmonised policies, energy efficient technologies and stronger regional cooperation to reduce emissions while supporting economic growth and energy security. He noted that efficient cooling contributes directly to the APAEC 2026-2030 target of reducing regional energy intensity by 40 per cent by 2030, and called on governments, industry, financial institutions and development partners to work together across the eleven ASEAN Member States.
Photo 2. Dr Pongpan Vorayasan, delivering opening remarks
Martin Brown-Santirso, Senior Consultant at HEAT International, outlined the regional cooling landscape, noting the absence of region-wide MEPS for commercial refrigeration and limited recognition of data centres in building frameworks. Proven technologies can deliver 20-40 per cent savings in tropical refrigeration.Proven technologies can deliver 20 to 40 per cent savings in tropical refrigeration. These investments, however, take seven to ten years to pay back, while most businesses expect a return within 18 months. He identified seven preconditions for investment, including clear policy signals, aggregation, risk sharing, and monetisation of system benefits.
Photo 3. Martin Brown-Santirso, delivering the scene-setting presentation
Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, Senior Officer of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Department, ACE, presented the ASEAN cooling outlook drawn from the 9th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO9). He stressed that cooling in ASEAN is no longer a luxury but a matter of resilience to heat. Heat waves in the region have roughly quadrupled since the 2000s, and days above 35 degrees Celsius will more than double by 2050. Cooling and refrigeration are already the largest commercial end use, at 38.3 per cent of commercial energy demand in 2025. Under business as usual, commercial cooling grows roughly 4.5 times to around 743 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2060, and data centre cooling nearly 18 times to around 285 TWh. Policy scenarios cut 2060 demand by 25 to 39 per cent, but growth remains nearly threefold.
Photo 4. Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, presenting the ASEAN Cooling Outlook and ASEAN Energy Plan of Action and Cooperation (APAEC) 2026–2030
Building on this regional perspective, Jericho Andres, Advisor of the ASEAN Cooling Project, GIZ, moderated the discussion on the policy, technical and financial measures needed to accelerate the transitionto sustainable cooling. The panel featured Patrick Aquino, CESO IV, Director of the Energy Utilisation Management Bureau, Department of Energy (DOE) Philippines, Alexander Ablaza, Founding Convenor of Asia-Pacific ESCO Industry Alliance (APEIA), Charlotte Camille Turk, Regional Investment Lead at Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and Rajesh Balasubramanian, Senior Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The panel noted that energy-efficient and low-GWP cooling technologies offer significant opportunities to reduce electricity use and emissions, but wider adoption depends on addressing interconnected policy, technical, and financial barriers. While MEPS and energy labelling are helping shift markets towards more efficient technologies,upfront costs, as driver of purchasing decisions, and limited access to finance remain challenges. Panellists also highlighted the integration ofpassive cooling into building codes and building ESCO capacity across ASEAN Member States.
A key message was that the challenge lies in the availability of finance rather than in channelling it to viable, replicable projects. Building bankable pipelines requires stronger capabilities among businesses, auditors, ESCOs, and financial institutions, supported by investment-grade audits, sub-metering, and standardised M&V. The panel identified three mutually reinforcing priorities: stronger efficiency mandates, targeted fiscal incentives, and sustained capacity development. The panel discussed risk-sharing ESCO contracts and cooling-as-a-service models as complementary financing approaches.
Photo 5. Panel session on creating market demand for climate-friendly cooling and turning it into investment, moderated by Jericho Jan Andres, featuring Patrick Aquino, Alexander Ablaza, Camile Turk, and Rajesh Balasubramanian
Martin Brown-Santirso concluded the session by summarising the agreed next steps. He stressed that expanding renewable energy alone will not meet ASEAN’s growing electricity demand; reducing cooling consumption through efficient technologies and better building design must complement clean energy efforts. These insights will inform the ACE-GIZ ASEAN Cooling Project, particularly in extending performance requirements, strengthening energy auditing, improving performance data and developing bankable project pipelines.
Photo 6. Martin Brown-Santirso, delivering the key takeaways and next steps
**
About The ASEAN Cooling Project
In support of ASEAN’s commitments under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC), the ASEAN Cooling project – implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – aims to reduce GHG emissions in cooling-intensive sectors by promoting energy efficiency and climate-friendly cooling technologies. The project focuses on sectors with high cooling demand, including food and beverage and data centres. It operates at both regional and national levels to link ASEAN-wide policy objectives with national implementation and pilot demonstrations. For more information, please visit the ASEAN Cooling Project landing page.
