Southeast Asia will see a rise in energy demand in the future. According to the 8th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO8), the growing population in the region could drive the total final energy consumption (TFEC) to 2.6 times by 2050 under the baseline scenario and 1.7-fold in the national targets scenario compared to the 2022 level. Fossil fuel demand will still dominate in 2050, more than 50% in both scenarios. This led to increased concerns about energy security and CO2 emissions. 

In 2023, Southeast Asia spent USD 7 billion on investment in energy efficiency programs and end-use electricity. The investment aimed to reduce the energy demand in the region with three main components: improvement of equipment efficiency; electrification and fuel switching; and structural changes in the economy. However, ASEAN is missing something that can boost its energy transition. While policy, finance, and technology drive energy transition, the region risks falling short without a serious investment in behavioural change and in how to monitor it. 

Behaviour in the energy consumption 

Population growth has always been the main driver for energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Thus, behavioural change initiatives, those targeting how people use energy, are equally essential as other investments in technologies or human capital. Behavioural change refers to actions aimed at shifting individual habits to reduce or eliminate energy waste and promote more sustainable energy use. Examples include limiting overcooling in buildings and households, or overboiling water in a kettle as needed. This approach is also aligned with the ASEAN Roadmap for Energy Efficient Buildings and Constructions, which identifies behavioural change as a core strategy for reducing emissions, along with efficiency improvements and using renewable energy. The Roadmap’s fifth Action Area, Systems and Operations, encourages the adoption of energy management practices and adjustments in daily building operations to optimise performance. 

Research suggests that consumer engagement on the energy transition has a significant role in improving energy usage,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115490 and the behavioural changes could further reduce overall energy demand by 10-25%. This was proven during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the imposed lockdown worldwide significantly decreased energy supply. The ASEAN’s Energy Intensity (EI)—one of the indicators to measure efficiency gains—had the biggest decline, dropping 26.9% in 2020 and 29.4% in 2021 from the 2005 level and might not be replicable without any interventions. These reductions demonstrate how shifts in everyday behaviour can meaningfully contribute to lowering energy use. 

Barriers that bring the challenges 

One of the barriers to behavioural changes is cultural habits. From urban to rural lifestyle, cultural values and norms often influence how people live, work, and consume resources. For example, modes of transportation, bad-driving behaviour, extensive use of high-intensity appliances or traditions related to surged energy demand. 

Information gaps drive people’s behaviour on energy consumption. With limited energy literacy campaigns, many consumers remain unaware of how much electricity their appliances consume, such as when charging laptops or mobile phones. 

Pricing subsidies also drive the population’s energy use. While the incentives support the economy, they keep electricity, petrol, or diesel prices artificially low and encourage more energy use. Worse, subsidies in fossil fuels delayed the transition to low-carbon technologies.  

The levers for change 

With these obstacles in mind, ASEAN can design targeted strategies or raise awareness to promote behavioural change. Campaigns can motivate people to make more environmentally friendly choices, such as reducing air conditioning usage or using public transport for commutes. As the second-highest energy-consuming sector in the region, reducing the use of fossil fuels in transportation will lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

Beyond the campaign, integrating energy and climate education in school is essential since younger generations have effectively encouraged more mindful behaviours and energy-conscious habits. This can be done by modifying existing curricula or introducing dedicated climate change modules, including interactive tools or educational games for learning. Besides, children can be powerful influencers, inspiring their families to adopt similar behaviours. 

Encouraging behavioural shifts can be further enhanced through adjustments in tariffs, such as dynamic pricing or pricing signals (e.g., electricity tariff, road pricing/tariffs or incentives) to promote more subtle energy usagehttps://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/3/1458. For example, in Japan, more than a third of the households successfully reduced their electricity consumption with the financial rewards program in 2012 during the shutdown of Japan’s nuclear power plants post-Fukushima accidents. 

Finally, infrastructures. Behavioural change can be encouraged through choices of infrastructures. Both sustainable rural and urban planning promote compact city development, efficient land use, low-carbon transport systems, and access to public amenities, ensuring more effective changes in habits. 

The toolkits to assess the changes 

Measuring energy reduction due to behavioural changes is challenging but essential for evaluating the impact of energy efficiency programs that target human behaviour rather than just technology upgrades. Some key approaches, tools, and metrics can be used by governments, utilities, and researchers to estimate such reductions. 

Demand-side or end-use energy data offers detailed insights into deep energy consumption patterns, highlighting the critical need for comprehensive and reliable data to support effective energy planning and policy-making. Comprehensive demand data could be collected through a survey or by promoting the use of smart meters. Survey data could provide the highest level of detail. It enables policymakers to drill down into the little information on consumer behaviour, which allows them to construct a practical policy-making approach. The disadvantage is that the survey could take longer to collect and analyse, and of course, it is slightly costly.  

In the building sector, installing a smart meter can eliminate survey disadvantages, especially if equipped with artificial intelligence. It could differentiate appliances on/off time and energy usage by analysing the pattern. However, using smart meters for data collection should be accompanied by appropriate data protection measures to safeguard consumer privacy. 

Promoting digital applications and interactive visual dashboards could also help households and communities understand their energy footprint. This can be done by integrating smart metres and sub-metering technologies into the visualisation dashboard. Such tools enable users to monitor the impact of using energy-efficient appliances in real time and adjust their energy usage behaviour.  

In addition, the data could be integrated with the relevant bodies which offer analytical insights into how specific policies, such as subsidies, rebates, or changes in electricity tariffs, affect overall energy use. By making energy data and information more accessible and actionable, these platforms can empower consumers to make informed decisions and actively participate in the energy transition. 

The transformation of people’s behaviour with accountable data systems is just as important to the success of ASEAN’s energy transition as technology and finance. Behavioural indicators should be considered in the next cycle of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2026-2030 framework to boost the region’s efforts on reducing energy intensity. Disaggregated and comprehensive energy data allow citizens, utilities, and policymakers to track consumption trends, identify inefficiency issues, and design interventions tailored to real-world usage. Behavioural changes shape how technologies are adopted and drive energy consumption reduction, thus critical in ensuring the transition is people-centred, efficient, and resilient.