Kota Kinabalu: Engineering has evolved beyond determining whether an asset is safe, functional and fit for purpose, with engineers now required to consider carbon emissions, resource efficiency and the effects on surrounding communities.
Petronas Malaysia Petroleum Management Senior Vice-President Datuk Bacho Pilong (pic) said the role of engineers had expanded significantly amid growing sustainability challenges, evolving energy demands and rapid technological advancement.
“The question is no longer simply whether we can build it, but whether we should build it and, if so, how we can build it smarter and more sustainably while benefiting future generations,” he said.
He said this during the plenary session titled “Engineering the Future: Leading Innovation and Talent to Balance Energy, Economics and Sustainability in a Complex World” at the inaugural Borneo International Conference on Engineering, Science and Technology 2026 at Sabah International Convention Centre here on Wednesday.
Citing recent flooding in his hometown of Tawau, he said climate change demonstrated why engineers must consider how infrastructure and energy systems could contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future.
He emphasised that emerging markets and developing economies accounted for about 80 per cent of global electricity demand in 2025, with much of the growth occurring in Southeast Asia amid rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and digitalisation.
Bacho said the growth of electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and data centres was creating new and increasingly concentrated patterns of energy demand.
He said data centres consumed about 414 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity worldwide in 2024, with demand projected to more than double to approximately 945TWh by 2030.
“When we engineer the future of artificial intelligence, we are also engineering the future of energy,” he said.
Bacho said engineers must therefore consider how an asset interacts with wider systems in terms of cost, carbon footprint, reliability and the value it creates for society.
He said there was no single pathway towards a lower-carbon future because every country had different resources, infrastructure, economies, energy systems and development priorities.
“For Asia, we must decarbonise while continuing to industrialise, expand energy access, create jobs, improve living standards and remain economically competitive,” he said.
He said innovation must bridge energy security, economic value and sustainability, with technologies such as artificial intelligence-assisted exploration, digital twins, predictive maintenance, remote sensing and carbon capture and storage already transforming the energy industry.
“Future engineers would require technical excellence, digital fluency, sustainability awareness, systems leadership and curiosity to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology,” Bacho said.
Bacho said Petronas was developing future talent through initiatives including the Petronas Energy Transition Academy and Universiti Teknologi Petronas’ Bachelor of Integrated Engineering programme.
The integrated programme combines several engineering disciplines with humanities, sustainability, data analytics, design thinking and business acumen while exposing students to industry sites and real operational problems from their first year.