LettersSoutheast Asia must find its own path to sustainability, as China has
Readers discuss the different pathways to building energy resilience, the worth of investing in youth basketball, and the media hype over Trudeau and Perry dating
When I looked at the latest Our World in Data line chart on global electricity generation, one line shot up like the side of a mountain – China’s. At more than 10,000 terawatt-hours, its electricity generation towers over the United States and other countries. For those of us in Southeast Asia, it’s both awe-inspiring and unsettling.
Some say this proves China’s unmatched discipline and ambition. But from this side of Asia, I see something more complex. The story is not simply about hard work – it’s about planning, consistency and how different societies understand energy, growth and responsibility.
In places like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, we are waking up to this reality in our own way. The rush towards renewable energy, the small coastal solar farms, the young engineers tinkering with micro-hydropower in remote villages – these are quiet revolutions, easily overlooked by the grand narratives of superpower rivalry. While China builds gigafactories, our regions build resilience from the ground up.