Sound energy policy needs sufficient information

IT is the time of the year when a number of annual reports begin appearing in news feeds, some of which are interesting and contain actionable insights, while others are a bit dubious due to excessive bias (looking at you, Economic Freedom Index) or flawed research. Two of the more useful ones that have floated through my field of view in the past few days include the Asia Data Transparency Report 2023, a joint effort of the green energy think tank and consultancy group Ember, whose work I have discussed previously, and Subak, which is a similar organization; and the UN Conference on Trade and Development's Trade and Environment Review 2023, which I'll discuss later after I've had time to properly digest it.

The Asia Data Transparency Report 2023 has arrived at the best possible time — or worst, depending on your point of view — as we have just experienced our first electricity supply "red alert" of the season, and the kinds of data the report examined are exactly the information energy regulators and the energy industry need to have in order to avoid that situation.