RENEWABLE ENERGY AND EQUITABLE ENVIRONMENTS – THE CASE OF ASEAN NET ENERGY EXPORTERS

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact of renewable energy transition on growth of income per capita across ASEAN net energy exporters, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei over a 33-year period from 1990 till 2022. This study is motivated by growing regional calls for equitable energy transformation while balancing export-driven fossil fuels economies. Based upon the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and energy transition theory, our research evaluates how renewable energy output (REO) and energy net import (ENI) interact with GDP per capita (GPC) in resource-rich yet transitioning economies. We utilize a balanced panel dataset from World Bank Open Data, integrating it with SAS big data software. Applying fixed and random effects panel regressions, we analyze 99 observations spanning over 33 years involving 3 countries. We control for energy use (EU) and structural country effects. Notably, we observe that fixed effect model is preferred as indicated by the Hausman test. The results show a significant relationship between REO and GPC. It is clear to us that these three ASEAN net energy exporting countries are now focusing on the use of renewable energy in power generation and gradually reduce fossil fuels production activities. Energy security, climate change concerns and the need to meet growing energy demand are the key factors that make these three countries to choose renewable energy transition. Surprisingly, there is an absence of significant relation between ENI and GPC suggesting that investment in a new technology in sustainable clean energy is more important coupled with the initiative to harness equitable environments among the citizens. Our analysis indicates that renewable energy transition contributes not only to foster a sustainable energy system but also signals commitment of these three countries to support the notions of equitable environments. The research findings surprisingly reveal that income growth aligns more with renewable energy scaling rather than energy net import. This study contributes to both theoretical refinement by putting ASEAN energy exporters within energy transition literature and policy design, offering real-time, data-driven insights on renewable energy technological updates. Uniquely, we utilize World Bank’s open-source data and incorporate panel data statistical modeling into big data environments, offering replicable predictive analytics for monitoring clean energy equity in ASEAN emerging economies.