Energy conservation policies in Southeast Asia

Vietnam: Top-level directives drive energy conservation and rooftop solar energy utilization 

On March 30, 2026, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued Notification No. 10/CT-TTg, fully deploying energy conservation and electricity saving efforts as well as the development of rooftop solar energy. The core objective set by the notification is that the national electricity consumption should be reduced by at least 3% in 2026, and the saving target for the high-temperature peak months from April to July should be increased to 10%. In terms of specific measures, Vietnam requires that approximately 10% of government office buildings install rooftop solar energy systems for self-generation and self-consumption. It aims to reduce peak load by at least 3,000 megawatts through demand response in 2026 and keep the total system power loss below 6%. In the public building sector, government office buildings must implement energy-saving plans and adopt efficient technologies, and public lighting systems must save at least 30% of electricity consumption. 

Binh Nguyen Province has closely followed the national deployment and has approved the provincial energy-saving plan in April 2026. It has allocated over 71.2 billion Vietnamese dong (approximately 2.7 million US dollars) to promote energy-saving efforts. All public administrative units are required to reduce electricity consumption by at least 5%, and those installing rooftop solar panels must save 10%. 

Malaysia: Ministry of Housing Urgently Promotes Six Energy-Saving Measures 

On April 13, 2026, Malaysia's Minister of Housing and Local Government, Ni Kaimin, instructed 156 local governments across the country to immediately implement comprehensive energy-saving measures to address the increasingly severe global energy crisis. The measures include: setting the air conditioning temperature in local government buildings at 24 degrees Celsius, implementing a phased policy for remote working, promoting the habit of turning off unnecessary equipment on a daily basis, installing solar energy and energy-saving LED lights, as well as intelligent building management systems, conducting regular energy audits, and promoting community energy-saving awareness through local publicity. The province also proposed renewable energy development goals, planning to achieve 50% of government office buildings and 50% of households using self-generated and self-consumed rooftop solar power by 2030. 

Indonesia: Relaxing foreign investment restrictions and encouraging energy conservation 

The 2025 "Guilin Initiative" has clearly defined several cooperation directions in the field of construction between China and ASEAN. Indonesia has relaxed restrictions on the access of foreign capital in engineering contracting. 

Cambodia: Foreign investment incentives highlight the simultaneous pursuit of domestic production and energy conservation. 

In April 2026, the country granted a maximum 9-year tax exemption period to foreign-funded construction enterprises, and also incorporated green buildings into its national planning.

Energy conservation policies in Europe

In April 2026, the most significant policy trend in the field of building energy efficiency in the European Union was the urgent implementation of the revised EPBD. Member states must convert the fourth edition of the "Building Energy Efficiency Directive" into their national laws by May 29, 2026. The core regulations include: 

Ⅰ.Mandatory energy-saving renovations for public buildings: The least energy-efficient 16% of non-residential building stock must be modernized by 2030, and this proportion will increase to 26% by 2033. 

Ⅱ.Mandatory installation of automated control systems: Starting from the second quarter of 2026, all new residential buildings and major renovation projects must include BACS real-time monitoring and energy management functions. For non-residential buildings with HVAC systems exceeding 290 kilowatts, mandatory installation of building energy management systems is required. This will be expanded to systems with a capacity of 70 kilowatts in 2029. 

Ⅲ.Intelligent readiness and indoor environmental quality requirements: The new regulations stipulate that intelligent building management systems must monitor indoor air quality. 

Ⅳ.Lighting control standardization: Non-residential buildings equipped with building management systems must be fitted with automatic lighting control systems. 

Ⅴ.Green financing innovation: Through various innovative financial tools such as green credit schemes, carbon insurance, and energy service companies, this project provides a social capital entry point for the energy-saving renovation of public buildings. 

At the enterprise level, Italian manufacturer Clivet announced that its entire product range now incorporates a complete BACS system. Meanwhile, Japanese company Daikin has implemented an intelligent control system to support real-time monitoring and energy efficiency tracking for EPBD compliance. On April 8, 2026, Danish SDU launched a low-cost IoT-Building-Cloud cloud platform, leveraging IoT and cloud computing technologies, to become a cost-effective intelligent building energy management solution that meets the new regulations.