Key facts
- Southeast Asia faces energy vulnerability due to reliance on imported oil and gas.
- Clean electrification is viewed as an economic and energy security imperative.
- The IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok focused on debt, energy, and climate crises.
Southeast Asian nations are vulnerable to energy shocks and need to cooperate on connecting their power grids, experts said during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok on October 14. The region's high dependence on imported oil and gas has left economies exposed to recent supply disruptions and price shocks. Panelists emphasized that clean electrification is increasingly seen as an economic and energy security imperative for governments grappling with high import bills and debt pressures. The meetings, held in Bangkok, focused on global economic challenges including fossil fuel supply shocks, rising debt distress, and climate impacts, with a particular spotlight on Asia's energy security and the convergence of energy security with the clean transition.