Road to Belém | Powering the Shift: Australia and Southeast Asia's Energy Trade

As COP30 in Belém shifts the agenda from pledges to delivery, this session explores how Australia’s renewable-export ambition could align with Southeast Asia’s accelerating—yet uneven—decarbonisation to shape a practical low-carbon corridor. Positioning Southeast Asia as a strategic secondary market—an early fast-follower rather than the premium first tier—the discussion considers how proximity, rising industrial demand and emerging product-carbon standards can support credible certification, interoperability and learning-by-doing across green hydrogen and derivatives, clean industrial inputs (e.g., green iron) and grid-enabling components.

Guiding questions:

Policy levers: Which carbon‑pricing, certification and trade‑facilitation measures most effectively accelerate cross‑border trade in green hydrogen and other clean fuels?

Complementarity & security: How can Australia’s critical‑mineral and renewable‑export strategies dovetail with Southeast Asian decarbonisation pathways while safeguarding energy security and a just transition?

Co‑operation platforms: What roles can COP30 outcomes, ASEAN‑Australia energy initiatives and plurilateral forums (e.g., IPEF) play in harmonising standards, finance and technology transfer?

Speakers:
Putra Adhiguna – Managing Director, Energy Shift Institute
Peter Draper – Executive Director, Institute for International Trade
Reuben Finighan – Research Lead - Economic Pathways, The Superpower Institute

Moderator:
Harry Wardana — Research Fellow, Institute for International Trade (IIT), University of Adelaide