Jakarta Globe, Noeleen Heyzer, October 18, 2013
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| 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.
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