Getting to know Rinko!
From conducting research in the Phillippines to exploring new mediums of knowledge sharing
Hey Rinko! What do you do at Energy CoLab?
Hi there! I’m the Research & Policy Lead among a team of four at Energy CoLab. Currently, I mostly research, collate and share ASEAN-focused energy news in a weekly Telegram newsletter. I also write articles, though my progress there is going much slower.
My interests revolve around equity in the energy transition — making sure the most vulnerable aren’t put at even a larger vulnerability by poor energy policy choices. Specifically, I’m interested in electricity, and how to secure it whilst ensuring intersectionality! While my interest in energy strung from its intersections with gender, I’ve recently started looking at how it interacts with urban informality. My undergraduate thesis is looking at what it means to have “formal” electricity access — what is the impact of being legally entitled to electricity?
Recently, you spent a bit of time conducting field research for your thesis in Calauan, Laguna, in The Phillippines. Tell us more about what brought you there.
Passionate about energy justice, I first went to the Philippines last June in 2023 to intern under a non-governmental organisation (NGO), the CentRE. The team at the CentRE works towards ensuring clean and just (energy) transitions in the peninsula. Specifically, I worked with their WISE, or Women in Inclusive and Sustainable Energy team, wherein I conducted research on whether women’s experiences with energy poverty differ from their male counterparts, as well as what sort of access issues these communities are facing.
Staying in Manila for a month, I was inspired by all the powerful voices fighting for energy justice in the country. Also fascinated by its unique regulatory environment and fragmented geography that makes integrated grids impossible, I ended up returning to the Philippines this January to conduct fieldwork for my undergraduate thesis.
For my current research, I visited and lived with the Southville 7 community in Calauan, Laguna. The community mainly comprises former informal settlers in Manila who were relocated for various reasons, like a fire or typhoon. From conversations in between meals to focus group discussions, I attempted to find out what happens to people’s electricity usage when their residential status is formalized. While I’m still working out the knots of my research paper, I know I’ll have to do it justice for everyone who has touched my work and motivation in one way or another, including Energy CoLab.
We’re looking forward to it! You’re in your final year at Yale-NUS College. What are some of your favourite courses so far, and how they have shaped your interest in environmental work?
Man! While there’s been a ton, one of my favourite courses has to be the one I took abroad at Yale University. If my interest in energy could be traced back to a single moment, it would be the lectures in this energy systems class. As the Professor put it, the class covered energy “from the molecular to the global scale”. It was fascinating to see our global energy system be broken up into all its components, as we tackled it from various perspectives and disciplines, including social justice and engineering.
What do you wish more people knew about energy?
Don’t ignore energy! For being the biggest culprit for global emissions single-handedly, I don’t think it gets talked about nearly heavily enough. I think people are hesitant to cover energy because people assume it’s too technical. While some engineering knowledge won’t hurt, I wish more people knew how accessible and exciting energy discussions can be! Don’t be shy! Join the bright side (💡, haha).
What are you looking forward to this year with Energy CoLab and beyond?
In line with this idea of energy being an inaccessible area of environmentalism, I’m so excited to be developing a series of learning modules to make energy knowledge more accessible! One of the reasons this curriculum means so much to me is that I understand what it’s like to be lost looking for quality educational resources on energy (in Southeast Asia, particularly). This is a course I would’ve loved to have when I was looking for ways to learn more about energy systems and justice in the area.
I’m also co-hosting a podcast exploring the intersections of energy, and we begin recording this month! I’ve always been interested in exploring podcasts as a medium, so I’m stoked to see what the experience will be like.
Energy CoLab is a community of learning. We design and organise meaningful learning and networking opportunities for young people in Singapore to spark curiosity towards sustainable energy transitions, with a focus on the social aspects that are often overlooked.
Our main focus is to work with various stakeholders across disciplines to make energy-related topics more accessible, engaging and inclusive, and to reduce barriers that many youth face in contributing solutions to energy issues.
