The Southeast Asian region stands at an important moment in its energy transition journey, facing the dual challenge of ensuring energy security while advancing sustainable, low-carbon solutions. To address these pressing concerns, this RSIS Seminar brings together a diverse set of research initiatives that collectively examine the complexities of energy transition in the region. The discussions will cover the role of domestic politics and the just and inclusive principles, including public responses to the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure; hydropolitics in the Mekong River Basin, with a particular focus on China’s domestic drivers and its regional influence over transboundary water governance; and nuclear governance and the application of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for data centres in Southeast Asia. 

About the Speakers

Margareth Sembiring is Research Fellow at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Her research focuses on environmental and climate change governance, with a strong interest in low-carbon energy transition. Her works have been featured in several edited volumes and prominent platforms, including the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Bureau of Asian Research, the East Asia Forum, the Straits Times, and the Jakarta Post. More recently, she published “Critical Geopolitics of Global Environmental Norms: Exploring Indonesia’s Response to Climate Mitigation Agenda” in Geopolitics journal.

Zhang Hongzhou is an assistant professor in the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia. He also serves as a research fellow at the Asia Research Center at Universitas Indonesia. He earned his PhD from the School of International Relations and the Research School of Southeast Asian Studies at Xiamen University. His research focuses on the various dimensions and levels of China’s rising influence, with particular emphasis on Southeast Asia. His work has been published in The Pacific Review, International Journal of China Studies, International Journal of Asian Studies, Asian Perspective, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Asia Europe Journal, and other academic journals.

Julius Cesar Trajano is Research Fellow at the NTS Centre, RSIS, NTU, Singapore. He is a member of the International Nuclear Security Education Network and of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific – Nuclear Energy Experts Group. His latest publications include Nuclear Governance in the Asia Pacific (Routledge, 2023) and “Deploying Small Modular Reactors in East Asia: Implications on Nuclear Governance” (International Journal of Nuclear Security, Vol. 9, 2025). He regularly participates and presents in annual nuclear safety and security conferences organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Alvin Chew is Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. His research focuses on the broad usage of civilian nuclear energy as well as nuclear non-proliferation matters. He also has vast experiences in the government sector working on energy security and also energy transition issues. Trained in both disciplines of engineering and social sciences, he is currently teaching an elective in the school’s MSc course on technology planning and strategic industries.