Manila, February 7, 2025 – At the 2025 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting, stakeholders from various sectors gathered to discuss the critical role of transparency and good governance in supporting a credible and just energy transition. The session, titled Pathways to a Credible and Just Energy Transition, was organized by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and OGP, featuring speakers from Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, Bantay Kita, Mongolia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, and Harita Nickel. The discussion was moderated by Sarah Hayton of EITI.
The global energy transition is reshaping the extractive industries, including the oil, gas, and mining sectors. Resource-rich countries now face the challenge of managing their assets responsibly amid growing demands for transparency from citizens, investors, and consumers. “Transparency strengthens accountability. Reliable data on natural resource governance empowers communities, investors, and policymakers to make informed decisions,” emerged as a key takeaway from the session.
The panelists—including Aryanto Nugroho from PWYP Indonesia, Beverly Besmanos from Bantay Kita, Sereeter Javkhlanbaatar from Mongolia’s Ministry, and Klaus Oberbauer from Harita Nickel—agreed that good governance is the foundation of an inclusive energy transition. “Clear rules, robust oversight, and multi-stakeholder engagement ensure that the benefits of the energy transition reach everyone,” they emphasized. Collaboration between governments, civil society, and industry was also deemed essential to balancing economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility.
The discussion highlighted three key frameworks—EITI, OGP, and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)—that can enhance governance and curb undue influence in decision-making processes. Aryanto stressed the need to go beyond minimum compliance with transparency standards. “Approaches must be tailored to the specific needs of countries and communities to ensure real impact,” he said.
From a corporate perspective, transparency is a cornerstone of sustainability strategies. “Transparency builds trust with stakeholders, aligns organizations with sustainability goals, and ensures that sustainability-related regulations can be implemented meaningfully,” noted Klaus Oberbauer. He added that multi-stakeholder standards like EITI and IRMA provide practical guidance on responsible business practices and frameworks for continuous improvement.
Several valuable lessons for energy transition projects emerged during the session. First, standardized methodologies for measuring emissions are essential to provide an accurate picture of the current state and progress. Second, a landscape-based approach could serve as an initial step to account for and offset land-use-related emissions. Third, the energy transition must be just for all, integrating responsible business practices with emissions reduction pathways to ensure that communities reliant on fossil fuels are not left behind.
As part of a global push toward a more sustainable future, this session underscored that transparency and good governance are not just necessities but also opportunities to create broader positive impacts across the Asia-Pacific region. By leveraging frameworks like EITI, OGP, and IRMA, countries in the region can ensure that the energy transition is not only technically successful but also socially and economically equitable.
Watch the recap: https://lnkd.in/dv_fJMBD