The Future of Sustainable Energy in a Growing Asia Pacific Is a Common, Very Necessary Goal

Jakarta Globe, Noeleen Heyzer, October 18, 2013

Indonesia has only exploited around five percent of its world-leading
geothermal potential (JG Photo/Rezza Estily)

The world is at a critical juncture, with energy consumption rising dramatically. Even allowing for the positive impacts of the policy commitments and plans announced by countries to address global climate change, total primary energy demand in Asia and the Pacific alone is expected to nearly double between 2010 and 2030.

How will the Asia Pacific region meet this demand? How will we grow in a sustainable way that is both equitable and efficient? How can universal energy access be achieved?

These are some of the key questions being addressed at the 22nd World Energy Congress in Daegu, South Korea, which begins on Sunday.

The world faces two main energy challenges: providing enough light, warmth and power for every household — and at the same time shifting to cleaner energy sources to protect our increasingly fragile natural environment.

Just over a year ago, at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, 191 member states and observers recognized the critical role that energy plays in development.

This is why the UN General Assembly declared 2014-2024 the “Decade of Sustainable Energy for All” and why UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched his “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative in 2011, focusing on three major goals: improving energy access, energy efficiency and the share of renewable sources in our energy mix. Ensuring sustainable energy for all is additionally challenging in Asia and the Pacific.

Despite great progress in improving peoples’ lives, the Asia Pacific region still has 628 million people without access to electricity and 1.8 billion who still use traditional fuels such as wood, charcoal, agricultural residue and animal waste.

Widespread energy poverty condemns billions to darkness, ill health and missed opportunities: children cannot study at night, clinics and hospitals cannot offer quality health care and many people cannot make use of the opportunities and information accessible through modern technology.

We must end this inequality, but we need to do so in a way that is intelligent and sustainable, utilizing natural resources while preserving the integrity of the ecosystems on which we depend.

In addition to the hundreds of millions without access to modern energy services, the Asia Pacific region also has some of the highest levels of carbon intensity. Our primary energy intensity is among the highest in the world, despite rapid and significant reductions in recent decades. This limits long-term national and regional competitiveness, jeopardizing employment opportunities and income levels.

The Asia Pacific region has some of the largest exporters and importers of fossil fuels, as well as the highest rates of fossil fuel subsidies. Worldwide, these subsidies were six times greater than the financial support for renewable energy.

The increasing dependency on fossil fuel imports in both the largest economies and the most vulnerable small island states exposes our region to the risks of oil price volatility and the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events.

Rebalancing our mix is therefore critical. The countries in our region have some of the fastest growing rates of investment in and added capacity for renewable energy, taking advantage of our ample supplies of solar, hydroelectric, wind, biomass, geothermal and ocean energies.

Still, the current energy mix remains mostly fossil fuel-based — especially coal — with renewable resources, including hydro, accounting for only 16 per cent of total electricity production.

These additional challenges are why a comprehensive, long-term understanding of “enhanced energy security” is evolving in the Asia Pacific region. This concept moves beyond calculations of supply and demand alone towards a holistic consideration of multiple aspects, including access, efficiency, renewables, environment, economics, trade and investment and, last but not least, connectivity.

As early as 2008, member states of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap) were developing a regional framework to address these challenges, passing a resolution at the its annual session on promoting renewables for energy security and sustainable development.

In a lecture last year to the Energy Market Authority in Singapore, I also proposed that the region should explore the creation of a game-changing Asian Energy Highway — an integrated regional “smart grid.”

These discussions culminated in May, when Escap organized the Asian and Pacific Energy Forum, the first conference of energy ministers held under the auspices of the UN in the region.

Hosted by the Russian Federation, 34 countries met in Vladivostok and adopted a groundbreaking framework — a Ministerial Declaration and five-year plan of action on regional cooperation for enhanced energy security and the sustainable use of energy.

One key area of action is to develop common infrastructure and to promote energy policies that accelerate regional economic integration.

Energy connectivity is not something new here. The Asean Power Grid (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the SAME or Saarc Market for Electricity (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and the GMS Power Market (Greater Mekong Subregion), are key instances of initiatives that could be linked and expanded under a common goal.

The lesson of these initiatives is that regional cooperation works best when it is based on a unified vision.

As evidenced by the Asia Pacific countries in Vladivostok, our region is committed to shaping the regional energy future we want: one of equity, efficiency and resilience, to benefit our people and our planet.

Noeleen Heyzer is the under secretary general of the United Nations, executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and special adviser of the UN secretary general for East Timor.